This module provides semaphore functions using System V semaphores. Semaphores may be used to provide exclusive access to resources on the current machine, or to limit the number of processes that may simultaneously use a resource.
This module provides also shared memory functions using System V shared memory. Shared memory may be used to provide access to global variables. Different httpd-daemons and even other programs (such as Perl, C, ...) are able to access this data to provide a global data-exchange. Remember, that shared memory is NOT safe against simultaneous access. Use semaphores for synchronization.
Table 1. Limits of shared memory by the Unix OS
| SHMMAX | max size of shared memory, normally 131072 bytes |
| SHMMIN | minimum size of shared memory, normally 1 byte |
| SHMMNI | max amount of shared memory segments, normally 100 |
| SHMSEG | max amount of shared memory per process, normally 6 |