Why endpoint_pair are piped?

[dharam...@cypress.com]

Hi,

I've a pretty basic question regarding the implementation of grpc_iomgr_create_endpoint_pair( ).

For Posix/Windows environment, it returns a pair of endpoints(client & server).

My questions , in general, is about understanding the purpose of an end-point pair? Main confusion is around these endpoints getting internally piped before being returned ?

If end-point/sockets represent the remote device, should it be piped/connected to another local socket? 

Br,
Dharam

[Ken Payson]

Behind the scenes, grpc_iomgr_create_endpoint_pair( ) creates a unix socketpair instead of the standard connected socket.

The endpoint pair is already piped when it is returned.  Socketpairs can be a useful alternative to standard sockets if your client/server are both in the same process.

[dharam...@cypress.com]

Thanks Ken.
So, it is probably useful for quickly prototyping application logic or write some quick tests for the new applications ?

As a piped pair of endpoints will eliminate the need of a separate external grpc server(or client).