process-substitution-fifos

Use bash process substitution to treat command output as a virtual file, passing it directly to commands requiring file arguments without creating temporary intermediate files on disk.

Named pipes (FIFOs) enable direct data streaming between unrelated bash processes, allowing inter-process communication without writing intermediate data to temporary files.

Bash coprocesses run commands interactively within the current shell, establishing bidirectional inter-process communication channels for simultaneous reading and writing data streams.

Process substitution works with Windows paths in bash, but requires specific path formatting adjustments to ensure proper inter-process communication and data streaming across environments.

FIFO limitations in performance-critical pipelines include potential blocking if reading and writing processes desync, requiring careful error handling and process synchronization to avoid deadlocks.

You need named pipes (FIFOs) when communicating between unrelated processes or sending data to multiple destinations simultaneously, which standard linear bash pipelines cannot accomplish.