FORK
Section: MINTLIB LIBRARY FUNCTIONS
(3)
Updated: 3 March 1993
Index
Return to Main Contents
NAME
fork - create a new process
SYNOPSIS
#include <unistd.h>
int fork(void);
DESCRIPTION
fork creates a copy of the current process using Pfork.
This call splits the program into two copies, both of
which continue to run. The only difference between the
two is the returned value. In one of these processes,
the child, this is zero. In the other, the parent, it is
non-zero; it is the process ID of the child (a positive
number), or a negative error code if the call failed.
SEE ALSO
exec..(3),
tfork(3),
vfork(3),
wait(3)
NOTES
At the moment (MiNT 0.99 and earlier), Pfork, and
consequently also fork, suspends the parent until the
child has terminated or overlays itself. This has yet
to be fixed, and may cause problems when porting UN*X
programs.
There are various intricate differences between the
parent and the child process, like the effects of
closing a file on which a lock has been obtained
(the parent owns the locks). You are advised to check
the man pages for Pfork and Pvfork, in addition
to the kernel sources, if you really want to know.
Index
- NAME
-
- SYNOPSIS
-
- DESCRIPTION
-
- SEE ALSO
-
- NOTES
-
This document was created by
man2html,
using the manual pages.
Time: 08:59:05 GMT, February 14, 2025