Easy explanation for a pipeline?

[AceDawg45]

I've heard this term frequently, and even googled it... although it doesn't make much sense to me. I understand its kind of like a set of processes in order, but what can I even use it for. In the programming book I am reading (Windows Via C/C++ by Jeffrey Richter), it says you can use CreateFile to make one, or other Win32 I/O functions. What would it have to do with files, or i/o? Anyway, just a question to set me to learn something new. Any answers are appreciated!

[helios]

I've heard this term frequently, and even googled it... although it doesn't make much sense to me. I understand its kind of like a set of processes in order, but what can I even use it for.

"Pipeline" generally refers to one of two things:
* The CPU pipeline, which is used to implement instruction-level parallelism. You can't use it directly, as it's part of the internal implementation of the CPU. If you're writing Assembly, you can write pipeline-friendly code to maximize performance.
* The graphics pipeline, which refers basically to the order in which operations are performed with textures, polygons, etc. in the GPU. Whenever you use a graphics library like OpenGL or DirectX, you're using the graphics pipeline (either fixed or programmable).

In the programming book I am reading (Windows Via C/C++ by Jeffrey Richter), it says you can use CreateFile to make one

You're confusing pipelines and pipes. Pipes are inter-process communication objects that work somewhat like files and somewhat like queues. They are used to transmit buffers between two processes, sometimes on different computers.

[AceDawg45]

Ohhhh.... I thought it was the other way around. Well, anyway, just a mundane question I thought need answering. Thanks!