<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations . Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . (August 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations . Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . (August 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> In computer science, inter-process communication or interprocess communication (IPC) refers specifically to the mechanisms an operating system provides to allow the processes to manage shared data . Typically, applications can use IPC, categorized as clients and servers, where the client requests data and the server responds to client requests . Many applications are both clients and servers, as commonly seen in distributed computing . Methods for doing IPC are divided into categories which vary based on software requirements, such as performance and modularity requirements, and system circumstances, such as network bandwidth and latency . </P> <P> IPC is very important to the design process for microkernels and nanokernels . Microkernels reduce the number of functionalities provided by the kernel . Those functionalities are then obtained by communicating with servers via IPC, increasing drastically the number of IPC compared to a regular monolithic kernel . </P>

A means for two processes to exchange information is with the use of