The main benefit is that it avoids needing to write to the disk (which can also be avoided by making the file on a ramdrive). In general, it behaves the same wa

The main benefit is that it avoids needing to write to the disk (which can also be avoided by making the file on a ramdrive). In general, it behaves the same way that a normal file behaves, in the sense that you read what was written, in the order it was written. The only difference in behavior I can think of is timing. Generally, when you read a text file, you see what is written at that moment in time (barring race conditions). With named pipes, you read what has been written, and then wait until the program writing closes the pipe. If anything gets written in the meantime, you still see it. This lets you use them for message passing in a way that normal files do not.