Computers as Components, 3rd Edition

6.6 Interprocess Communication Mechanisms

Processes often need to communicate with each other. Interprocess communication mechanisms are provided by the operating system as part of the process abstraction.

In general, a process can send a communication in one of two ways: blocking or nonblocking. After sending a blocking communication, the process goes into the waiting state until it receives a response. Nonblocking communication allows the process to continue execution after sending the communication. Both types of communication are useful.

There are two major styles of interprocess communication: shared memory and message passing. The two are logically equivalent—given one, you can build an interface that implements the other. However, some ...