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From: "Dmitry A. Kazakov" <mailbox@dmitry-kazakov.de>
Newsgroups: comp.unix.shell,comp.unix.programmer,comp.lang.misc
Subject: Re: Python (was Re: I did not inhale)
Date: Sun, 18 Aug 2024 10:10:09 +0200
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On 2024-08-17 23:51, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
> On Sat, 17 Aug 2024 12:58:31 +0200, Dmitry A. Kazakov wrote:
> 
>> Windows inter-process API are far more advanced than what UNIX ever had.
>> It would be enough to mention famous file locks.
> 
> Except those file locks are more of a liability than an asset.

Like so many things in UNIX...

> They are
> what prevent you from continuing to use a Windows system while it is being
> updated, for example.

Windows mutex gets collected when the last process using it dies. UNIX 
file lock does not.

>> The reason why processes are not included is that they are used to deal
>> with some OS or design flaw that forces you to spawn some script or
>> application.
> 
> Or because the *nix tradition of being able to spawn a pipeline of
> multiple processes, all cooperating to perform a common task, is difficult
> and expensive, or even unreliable, under Windows.

It is as expensive under Windows as it is under UNIX. There is no 
problem to produce the same mess as under UNIX. In fact Windows shells 
do this just same.

Windows has a pipe object named and anonymous. No problem. Pipes are 
rarely used in applications because it is not how distributed systems 
(where multiple processes are indeed used) are designed. They usually 
require processes be able to run on different nodes.

P.S. It is no wonder that Windows process API are far beyond UNIX. 
Historically UNIX started with singe fork() call. There was nothing but 
files, no system objects, nothing.
On the other hand, Windows NT was developed by people influenced with 
the VMS design. VMS had a very elaborated process communication API. So 
Windows inherited much of that, but must importantly the concept of 
system resources managed by the OS.

-- 
Regards,
Dmitry A. Kazakov
http://www.dmitry-kazakov.de