| Updated: October 28, 2024 |
All threads within a process share the memory of that process. To share memory between processes, you must first create a shared memory region and then map that region into your process's address space. Shared memory regions are created and manipulated using the following calls:
| Function | Description | Classification |
|---|---|---|
| shm_open() | Open (or create) a shared memory region. | POSIX |
| close() | Close a shared memory region. | POSIX |
| mmap() | Map a shared memory region into a process's address space. | POSIX |
| munmap() | Unmap a shared memory region from a process's address space. | POSIX |
| munmap_flags() | Unmap previously mapped addresses, exercising more control than possible with munmap() | QNX Neutrino |
| mprotect() | Change protections on a shared memory region. | POSIX |
| msync() | Synchronize memory with physical storage. | POSIX |
| shm_ctl(), shm_ctl_special() | Give special attributes to a shared memory object. | QNX Neutrino |
| shm_unlink() | Remove a shared memory region. | POSIX |
POSIX shared memory is implemented in the QNX Neutrino RTOS via the process manager (procnto). The above calls are implemented as messages to procnto (see the “Process Manager” chapter).
The shm_open() function takes the same arguments as open() and returns a file descriptor to the object. As with a regular file, this function lets you create a new shared memory object or open an existing shared memory object.
When a new shared memory object is created, the size of the object is set to zero. To set the size, you use ftruncate()—the very same function used to set the size of a file—or shm_ctl().
Shared memory objects that are populated with shm_ctl() are implicitly locked, unless you use the SHMCTL_LAZY flag.