I don't understand why you'd do it, but sure, if you're determined to avoid pipes even in situations where they'd be really well suited to the problem, a scheme

I don't understand why you'd do it, but sure, if you're determined to avoid pipes even in situations where they'd be really well suited to the problem, a scheme using files on a RAM-based filesystem and roll-your-own signaling/blocking/buffering could conceivably be made approximately equivalent, performance-wise, to a pipe. Out of curiosity, is there some good reason you'd do this instead of just using a mechanism that's specifically made to solve this problem?