Which inter-process communication mechanism is used in Windows to enable legitimate communication between running processes by exchanging messages through a pipe?

Which inter-process communication mechanism is used in Windows to enable legitimate communication between running processes by exchanging messages through a pipe?

• A. Messages
• B. Shared Memory
• C. Pipes
• D. Sockets

Answer: (C)

Pipes provide a dedicated channel for inter-process communication in Windows, allowing one process to write data that another process reads back in a controlled, orderly way. A pipe represents two endpoints—one for writing and one for reading—so processes can exchange messages or data as part of legitimate coordination. Named pipes in particular enable communication between unrelated processes on the same machine (and even over a network), while anonymous pipes are often used to connect a parent and child process during execution. This mechanism is designed for secure, managed data transfer with OS-level buffering and synchronization, making it the standard way to exchange messages between running processes through a pipe. Messages, shared memory, and sockets are different IPC concepts. A messaging approach isn’t the same pipe-based channel, shared memory isn’t a data-transfer path through a pipe, and sockets are network-oriented communication endpoints (not the pipe mechanism described here), even though they can be used locally.

Pipes provide a dedicated channel for inter-process communication in Windows, allowing one process to write data that another process reads back in a controlled, orderly way. A pipe represents two endpoints—one for writing and one for reading—so processes can exchange messages or data as part of legitimate coordination. Named pipes in particular enable communication between unrelated processes on the same machine (and even over a network), while anonymous pipes are often used to connect a parent and child process during execution. This mechanism is designed for secure, managed data transfer with OS-level buffering and synchronization, making it the standard way to exchange messages between running processes through a pipe.

Messages, shared memory, and sockets are different IPC concepts. A messaging approach isn’t the same pipe-based channel, shared memory isn’t a data-transfer path through a pipe, and sockets are network-oriented communication endpoints (not the pipe mechanism described here), even though they can be used locally.