6 ms·
When you write to stdout, you're often not writing back to where stdin came from. Pipes use this to chain programs, read from one, write to another.
by jimktrains2 8y ago
When you write to stdout, you're often not writing back to where stdin came from. Pipes use this to chain programs, read from one, write to another.
- inetknght 8y agoI don't think it breaks the concept of pipes. I think it breaks the concept of _pipelines_. When I think of pipes, I think of an operating system concept of synchronized DMA between unique address spaces. When I think of pipelines, I think of what you're talking about, a sequence of programs handling data between them. I don't see why a pipeline should be unidirectional though.
- jimktrains2 8y ago> I don't think it breaks the concept of pipes. I think it breaks the concept of _pipelines_. Fair enough. > I don't see why a pipeline should be unidirectional though. Piplines usually only carry material from one side to the other :) (yes, pneumatic ones are different :)) It's part "just because that made sense at the time" and partially because it does make sense: Give data to A, take the output and process it, give that to C, &c. However, a bidirectional, or even multiple, pipe would have some advantages, such as signaling.