What is a Named Pipe?
Named pipes are one option that is used to directly transmit data from a point of origin to a point of termination. This approach tends to avoid the necessity of going through some type of mediating protocol or process. The end result of the named pipe approach is a quick and easy movement of data from one point to another, often in a highly secure manner. In order to understand the concept of a named pipe, it is first necessary to define what a pipe refers to in computer programming. Essentially, a pipe provides a simple one way communication process that is direct and does not require anything other than a direct send to the point of termination. The concept of the pipe is a common feature in various Unix operating systems. Within the actual structure of the pipe mechanism, the operating system receives the transmitted data from the sender and places it into a holding pattern while the reception protocols are activated on the receiver end. Once the point of termination is ready to re
A named pipe is a special file that is used to transfer data between unrelated processes. One (or more) processes write to it, while another process reads from it. Named pipes are visible in the file system and may be viewed with `ls’ like any other file. (Named pipes are also called fifos; this term stands for `First In, First Out’.) Named pipes may be used to pass data between unrelated processes, while normal (unnamed) pipes can only connect parent/child processes (unless you try very hard). Named pipes are strictly unidirectional, even on systems where anonymous pipes are bidirectional (full-duplex).
Named pipes can be used to provide communication between processes on the same computer or between processes on different computers across a network. Typical named pipe resources include file shares and print shares. For more information about named pipes, visit the following MSDN Library Web site. How do I know if I use the Computer Browser service on my server? By default, the Computer Browser service is installed and running on Windows XP Service Pack 1. By default, the Computer Browser service is disabled on Windows XP Service Pack 2. You can determine if the Computer Browser service is installed by following this procedure.
Perl has the ability to create a pair of anonymous pipes using the pipe() function. One end of the pipe is for reading data and the other end is for writing data. This ability is quite handy especially if you need to share data across child processes. However what if you need to share data across non child processes and processes from other machines on a network? This is where Named Pipes come in. A Named Pipe is just like an anonymous pipe except that a name is associated with the pipe. Additionally a named pipe can be full duplex (both ends can read and write data) unlike its anonymous brother. By associating a name with the pipe a process can create several named pipes each being used for different purposes.
