Named pipes, also known as FIFOs (First-In, First-Out), facilitate communication between unrelated processes on the same system. They function like regular files but are designed for sequential data flow.
Sending and Receiving Data with Named Pipes in a Linux Shell:
Create the Named Pipe.
A named pipe is created using the mkfifo command. This creates a special file in the filesystem.
Code

   mkfifo my_pipe

Send Data to the Named Pipe.
Data can be sent to the named pipe by redirecting standard output to it. This acts as the "writing" end of the pipe.
Code

   echo "Hello from sender!" > my_pipe

Note: The echo command will block until a process opens the named pipe for reading. Receive Data from the Named Pipe.
Data can be received from the named pipe by redirecting its content as standard input to another command. This acts as the "reading" end of the pipe.
Code

   cat < my_pipe

Note: The cat command will block until data is written to the named pipe.
Example Workflow:
Terminal 1 (Sender).
Code

   mkfifo my_pipe
   echo "This is a message." > my_pipe
   echo "Another line of text." > my_pipe

Terminal 2 (Receiver).
Code

   cat < my_pipe

Output in Terminal 2:
Code

   This is a message.
   Another line of text.

Important Considerations:

   Blocking Behavior: Named pipes are typically blocking by default. A process trying to write to an empty pipe will block until another process opens it for reading, and vice-versa.
   Permissions: Named pipes have file permissions, which control which users and groups can read from or write to them.
   Cleanup: Named pipes persist in the filesystem until explicitly removed using rm.

Sending and Receiving Data with Named Pipes in C/C++:
Programming languages like C/C++ can also interact with named pipes using file I/O functions (e.g., open, read, write, close). This allows for more complex inter-process communication logic.