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Inter-Process Communication (IPC) is a mechanism that allows the exchange of data between processes. By providing a user with a set of programming interfaces, IPC helps a programmer organize the activities among different processes. IPC allows one application to control another application, thereby enabling data sharing without interference.

IPC enables data communication by allowing processes to use segments, semaphores, and other methods to share memory and information. IPC facilitates efficient message transfer between processes. The idea of IPC is based on Task Control Architecture (TCA). It is a flexible technique that can send and receive variable length arrays, data structures, and lists. It has the capability of using Publish-Subscribe and Client-Server data-transfer paradigms while supporting a wide range of operating systems and languages.

Source: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/3818/inter-process-communication-ipc