Some sort of IPC cross platform?

[softtouch 9]

I am looking for some sort of IPC which works cross platform.

The purpose is to start other executables from a main program and communicate with them, sending data and receive results for example.

It should work on Windows and also on macOS.

Unfortunately, I could not finds anything useful.

Does anybody has a clue or hint or anything?

[Anders Melander 1783]

tcp/ip works on pretty much everything.

[Fr0sT.Brutal 900]

Pipes are the best for apps you launch and control. The easiest implementation at the sub app side is just ReadLn/WriteLn

[softtouch 9]

I cant get tcp (using Indy) working. On Win is works, running the same on mac, it crash with some error #5.

Isn't there somewhere a solution that actually works?

[Edwin Yip 154]

I use mORMot for this because calling a method or an interface in another process is just like calling a method/interface in the same process.

And the communication protocol can be tcp/ip or named pipes.

 

On process B you define and implement an interface:

type
  ICalculator = interface(IInvokable)
    ['{9A60C8ED-CEB2-4E09-87D4-4A16F496E5FE}']
    /// add two signed 32-bit integers
    function Add(n1,n2: integer): integer;
  end;

  TServiceCalculator = class(TInterfacedObject, ICalculator)
  public
    function Add(n1,n2: integer): integer;
  end;

function TServiceCalculator.Add(n1, n2: integer): integer;
begin
  result := n1+n2;
end;

And you expose it:

Server.ServiceRegister(TServiceCalculator,[TypeInfo(ICalculator)],sicShared);

 

On process A, you can now call the above interface served by process B:

Client.ServiceRegister([TypeInfo(ICalculator)],sicShared);

var I: ICalculator;
begin
  I := Client.Service<ICalculator>;
  if I<>nil then
    result := I.Add(10,20);
end;

More details: https://synopse.info/files/html/Synopse mORMot Framework SAD 1.18.html#TITLE_415

 

Sample code:

https://github.com/synopse/mORMot/tree/master/SQLite3/Samples/14 - Interface based services

 

It's even simpler if you use the so-called "method-based service".

 

Hope it helps.

[softtouch 9]

I thought that is only Win/Linux (server). I need to have IPC on macOS, communicating between macOS apps.

[Edwin Yip 154]

Oh sorry, overlooked the MacOS requirement...

[mjustin 23]

2 hours ago, softtouch said:

I thought that is only Win/Linux (server). I need to have IPC on macOS, communicating between macOS apps.

Indy runs on many operating systems including Linux. It should also run on macOS.

If you get an "error #5", you may find the cause by debugging, to find the location in your application and the actual operation it tries to perform.