ABSTRACT
Some facilities, which on the surface seem similar, are actually significantly different in terms of the methods and functionality they provide. For example, stream sockets can be used to communicate over a network, while FIFOs can be used only for communication between processes on the same machine. Of all of the IPC methods, only sockets permit processes to communicate over a network. Sockets are generally used in one of two domains: that which allows communication between processes on the same system, and on the Internet, which allows communication between processes on different hosts connected via a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) network. Often, only minor changes can convert a program that uses sockets between the two domains.
