XPC

Definitions

1. A low-level inter-process communication mechanism on Apple platforms that allows apps to communicate with helper processes and system services through serialized message passing over Mach ports, enabling privilege separation by running sensitive operations in isolated XPC services.

   In plain English: An Apple system that lets different programs on a Mac or iPhone talk to each other securely, keeping sensitive operations isolated.

   Example: "We moved the keychain access into an XPC service so the main app doesn't need elevated privileges."

Related Terms

• Message Passing
• Marshalling
• Named Pipe
• Platform Channel
• Run Loop
• Shared Memory
• Unix Domain Socket
• Unix Socket