(1) (InterProcess Communication) The exchange of data between one program and another either within the same computer or over a network. It implies a protocol that guarantees a response to a request. Examples are OS/2's Named Pipes, Windows' DDE, Novell's SPX and Macintosh's IAC.

IPCs are performed automatically by the programs. For example, a spreadsheet program could query a database program and retrieve data from one of its databases. A manual example of an IPC function is performed when users cut and paste data from one file to another using the clipboard.

(2) (Instructions Per Clock cycle) The number of instructions that can be executed by a CPU in one tick of the clock. This is accomplished by various pipelining techniques that determine which instructions can be executed in parallel and keeping often-used instructions in a cache. See pipeline processing.