Editing Named pipe (section)

{{Short description|Method of inter-process communication}}
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In [[computing]], a '''named pipe''' (also known as a '''[[FIFO (computing and electronics)|FIFO]]''' for its behavior) is an extension to the traditional [[pipeline (Unix)|pipe]] concept on [[Unix]] and [[Unix-like]] systems, and is one of the methods of [[inter-process communication]] (IPC). The concept is also found in [[OS/2]] and [[Microsoft Windows]], although the semantics differ substantially. A traditional pipe is "[[anonymous pipe|unnamed]]" and lasts only as long as the process. A named pipe, however, can last as long as the system is up, beyond the life of the process. It can be deleted if no longer used. Usually a named pipe appears as a file, and generally processes attach to it for IPC.