Interprocess Communication (IPC)

• Mechanism for processes to communicate and to synchronize their actions
• Message system – processes communicate with each other without resorting to shared variables
• IPC facility provides two operations:
  - send(message) – message size fixed or variable
  - receive(message)
• If P and Q wish to communicate, they need to:
  - establish a communication link between them
  - exchange messages via send/receive
• Implementation of communication link
  - physical (e.g., shared memory, hardware bus)
  - logical (e.g., logical properties)