How Can Named Pipes Facilitate Inter-Process Communication in a C# Console Application?

C# Console Application: Inter-Process Communication with Named Pipes

Named pipes provide a robust and efficient method for inter-process communication (IPC). This example demonstrates a C# console application using named pipes to exchange messages between two processes.

Application Structure

We'll build two console applications: Application A and Application B. Application A initiates communication, sending a message to Application B, which responds accordingly.

Server (Application B)

1. A named pipe is created using NamedPipeServerStream.
2. The server waits for a client connection using WaitForConnection.
3. StreamReader and StreamWriter establish communication channels for message reading and writing.

Server Code Example:

Task.Factory.StartNew(() =>
{
    using (var server = new NamedPipeServerStream("MyPipe"))
    {
        server.WaitForConnection();
        using (var reader = new StreamReader(server))
        using (var writer = new StreamWriter(server))
        {
            while (true)
            {
                string message = reader.ReadLine();
                if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(message)) break; //Handle potential termination
                string reversedMessage = new string(message.Reverse().ToArray());
                writer.WriteLine(reversedMessage);
                writer.Flush();
            }
        }
    }
});

Client (Application A)

1. A named pipe client is created using NamedPipeClientStream.
2. The client connects to the server.
3. Communication channels are opened for sending and receiving data.

Client Code Example:

using (var client = new NamedPipeClientStream(".", "MyPipe", PipeDirection.InOut))
{
    client.Connect();
    using (var reader = new StreamReader(client))
    using (var writer = new StreamWriter(client))
    {
        while (true)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Enter message (or leave blank to exit):");
            string input = Console.ReadLine();
            if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(input)) break;
            writer.WriteLine(input);
            writer.Flush();
            Console.WriteLine($"Received: {reader.ReadLine()}");
        }
    }
}

Communication Process

Application A connects to the named pipe server initiated by Application B. Messages are exchanged through their respective channels. For instance, if Application A sends "Hello World", Application B reverses it to "dlroW olleH" and sends it back. Application A displays this reversed message. The loop continues until Application A sends an empty message to signal termination.

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