lIPC

lIPC is a term used in computing to denote lightweight inter-process communication, referring to a family of IPC mechanisms designed to exchange data between processes with minimal overhead. It is not a single standardized protocol; different projects and platforms may implement their own variants under the lIPC label, often emphasizing simplicity, small code size, and low latency.

Most lIPC implementations provide a set of core primitives for process-to-process communication, including point-to-point message passing, asynchronous event handling, and support for shared memory regions. Common patterns include message queues, channels or ports, and optional RPC-style calls. Interfaces are typically exposed through a compact API intended for use in performance-sensitive or resource-constrained environments, such as embedded systems or real-time applications.

Performance characteristics are a primary design consideration. lIPC aims to minimize context switches, copying, and synchronization overhead, sometimes by using memory-mapped shared buffers, zero-copy messaging, or user-space dispatch. Security and access control are addressed through permissions, capability-based access, or sandboxing to prevent unauthorized data exposure between processes.

Usage scenarios include embedded devices, mobile platforms, and modular servers where lightweight, deterministic IPC improves responsiveness and scalability. Because lIPC spans multiple independent implementations, specific guarantees, APIs, and feature sets vary between projects. When evaluating an lIPC option, developers typically compare latency, throughput, memory footprint, programming model, and integration with system scheduling and security policies.

See also IPC, inter-process communication, shared memory, message queue.