This book describes four different forms of IPC in detail:
- message passing (pipes, FIFOs, and message queues),
- synchronization (mutexes, condition variables, read-write locks, file and record locks, and semaphores),
- shared memory (anonymous and named), and
- remote procedure calls (Solaris doors and Sun RPC).
Well-implemented interprocess communications (IPC) are key to the performance of virtually every non-trivial UNIX program. In UNIX Network Programming, Volume 2, Second Edition, legendary UNIX expert W. Richard Stevens presents a comprehensive guide to every form of IPC, including message passing, synchronization, shared memory, and Remote Procedure Calls (RPC).
Stevens begins with a basic introduction to IPC and the problems it is intended to solve. Step-by-step you'll learn how to maximize both System V IPC and the new Posix standards, which offer dramatic improvements in convenience and performance. You'll find extensive coverage of Pthreads, with many examples reflecting multiple threads instead of multiple processes. Along the way, you'll master every current IPC technique and technology, including:
- Pipes and FIFOs.
- Posix and System V Message Queues
- Mutexes and Condition Variables
- Read-Write Locks
- Record Locking
- Posix and System V Semaphores
- Posix and System V Shared Memory
- Solaris Doors and Sun RPC
- Performance Measurements of IPC Techniques
If you've read Stevens' best-selling first edition of UNIX Network Programming, this book expands its IPC coverage by a factor of five! You won't just learn about IPC "from the outside." You'll actually create implementations of Posix message queues, read-write locks, and semaphores, gaining an in-depth understanding of these capabilities you simply can't get anywhere else.
The book contains extensive new source code-all carefully optimized and available on the Web. You'll even find a complete guide to measuring IPC performance with message passing bandwidth and latency programs, and thread and process synchronization programs.
About the Author
W. RICHARD STEVENS is author of UNIX Network Programming, First Edition, widely recognized as the classic text in UNIX networking. He is also author of Advanced Programming in the UNIX Environment and the TCP/IP Illustrated Series. Stevens is an acknowledged UNIX and networking expert, sought-after Instructor, and occasional consultant.