AI engineering glossary · Computing foundations
What is IPC (inter-process communication)?
Inter-process communication (also called IPC): The set of mechanisms that let separate processes exchange data or coordinate, such as pipes, sockets, shared memory and message queues. It is needed because processes have isolated memory.
Inter-process communication: an example
A parent process can send a list of image paths to worker processes through a queue.
Related terms
More Computing foundations terms
Where you learn it
Inter-process communication is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.