A Unix ___domain socket(UDS) or IPC socket (inter-procedure call socket) is a virtual socket, similar to an internet socket that is used in POSIX operating systems for inter-process communication. The correct standard POSIX term is POSIX Local IPC Sockets.
These connections appear as a byte stream network connection but go from the local computer to itself.
In addition to sending data, processes can send file descriptors across a Unix ___domain socket connection using the sendmsg() and recvmsg() system calls.
External links
- socketpair(2) man page: create a pair of connected sockets
- sendmsg(2) man page
- recvmsg(2) man page
- cmsg(3) man page: socket ancillary data, including sending/receiving file descriptors
- ucspi-unix, UNIX-___domain socket client-server command-line tools