pipe — create pipe
#include <unistd.h>
int
pipe( |
int | pipefd[2]); |
pipe() creates a pipe, a
unidirectional data channel that can be used for interprocess
communication. The array pipefd is used to return two
file descriptors referring to the ends of the pipe.
pipefd[0] refers to
the read end of the pipe. pipefd[1] refers to the write
end of the pipe. Data written to the write end of the pipe is
buffered by the kernel until it is read from the read end of
the pipe. For further details, see pipe(7).
On success, zero is returned. On error, −1 is
returned, and errno is set
appropriately.
pipefd is
not valid.
Too many file descriptors are in use by the process.
The system limit on the total number of open files has been reached.
The following program creates a pipe, and then fork(2)s to create a child process; the child inherits a duplicate set of file descriptors that refer to the same pipe. After the fork(2), each process closes the descriptors that it doesn't need for the pipe (see pipe(7)). The parent then writes the string contained in the program's command-line argument to the pipe, and the child reads this string a byte at a time from the pipe and echoes it on standard output.
#include <sys/wait.h>
#include <assert.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <string.h>
int
main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
int pipefd[2];
pid_t cpid;
char buf;
assert(argc == 2);
if (pipe(pipefd) == −1) {
perror("pipe");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
cpid = fork();
if (cpid == −1) {
perror("fork");
exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
}
if (cpid == 0) { /* Child reads from pipe */
close(pipefd[1]); /* Close unused write end */
while (read(pipefd[0], &buf, 1) > 0)
write(STDOUT_FILENO, &buf, 1);
write(STDOUT_FILENO, "\n", 1);
close(pipefd[0]);
_exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
} else { /* Parent writes argv[1] to pipe */
close(pipefd[0]); /* Close unused read end */
write(pipefd[1], argv[1], strlen(argv[1]));
close(pipefd[1]); /* Reader will see EOF */
wait(NULL); /* Wait for child */
exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
}
}
This page is part of release 2.79 of the Linux man-pages project. A
description of the project, and information about reporting
bugs, can be found at
http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/.
|
Copyright (C) 2005, 2008, Michael Kerrisk <mtk.manpagesgmail.com> (A few fragments remain from an earlier (1992) version by Drew Eckhardt <drewcs.colorado.edu>.) Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies. Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission notice identical to this one. Since the Linux kernel and libraries are constantly changing, this manual page may be incorrect or out-of-date. The author(s) assume no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. The author(s) may not have taken the same level of care in the production of this manual, which is licensed free of charge, as they might when working professionally. Formatted or processed versions of this manual, if unaccompanied by the source, must acknowledge the copyright and authors of this work. Modified by Michael Haardt <michaelmoria.de> Modified 1993-07-23 by Rik Faith <faithcs.unc.edu> Modified 1996-10-22 by Eric S. Raymond <esrthyrsus.com> Modified 2004-06-17 by Michael Kerrisk <mtk.manpagesgmail.com> Modified 2005, mtk: added an example program Modified 2008-01-09, mtk: rewrote DESCRIPTION; minor additions to EXAMPLE text. |