Linux/UNIX IPC Programming course outline

1. Course Introduction
2. IPC: Introduction and Overview
   • Categorizing IPC
   • Choosing an IPC mechanism
3. Pipes and FIFOs
   • Creating and using pipes
   • Connecting filters with pipes
   • FIFOs
4. Sockets: Concepts and UNIX Domain
   • Socket types and domains
   • Creating and binding a socket
   • System calls: stream sockets
   • UNIX domain stream sockets
   • System calls: datagram sockets
   • UNIX domain datagram sockets
   • Further details of UNIX domain sockets
5. Sockets: Internet Domain
   • Internet domain sockets
   • Data-representation issues
   • Loopback and wildcard addresses
   • Host addresses and port numbers
   • Host and service conversion
   • Internet domain sockets example
   • Additional sockets system calls
6. Alternative I/O Models
   • Nonblocking I/O
   • Signal-driven I/O
   • I/O multiplexing: poll()
   • Problems with poll() and select()
   • The epoll API
   • epoll events
   • epoll: edge-triggered notification
   • epoll: API quirks
   • Event-loop programming
7. POSIX IPC Overview
8. POSIX Semaphores
   • Named semaphores
   • Semaphore operations
   • Synchronizing access to a shared resource
   • Unnamed semaphores
9. POSIX Shared Memory
   • Creating \& opening SHM objects
   • Using SHM objects
   • Synchronizing access to SHM
10. POSIX Message Queues (*)
    • Opening, closing, and unlinking a message queue
    • Message queue attributes
    • Sending and receiving messages
    • The mqueue filesystem
    • Message queue limits and defaults
    • Message notification via a signal
    • Message notification via a thread
11. Other IPC methods (*)
    • eventfd()
    • Pseudoterminals
    • File locks
    • Cross-memory attach
    • Shared file mappings

(*) Topics marked with an asterisk will be covered subject to time constraints.

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