- Inter Process Communication
- Home
- Overview
- Process Information
- Process Image
- Process Creation & Termination
- Child Process Monitoring
- Process Groups, Sessions & Job Control
- Process Resources
- Other Processes
- Overlaying Process Image
- Related System Calls (System V)
- System V & Posix
- Pipes
- Named Pipes
- Shared Memory
- Message Queues
- Semaphores
- Signals
- Memory Mapping
- Useful Resources
- Quick Guide
- Useful Resources
- Discussion
Child Process Monitoring
As we have seen, whenever we create a child process from a program using fork, the following happens −
- Current process now becomes the parent process
- The new process becomes the child process
What happens if the parent process finishes its task early than the child process and then quits or exits? Now who would be the parent of the child process? The parent of the child process is init process, which is the very first process initiating all the tasks.
To monitor the child process execution state, to check whether the child process is running or stopped or to check the execution status, etc. the wait() system calls and its variants is used.
Let us consider an example program, where the parent process does not wait for the child process, which results into init process becoming the new parent for the child process.
File name: parentprocess_nowait.c
#include<stdio.h>
int main() {
int pid;
pid = fork();
// Child process
if (pid == 0) {
system("ps -ef");
sleep(10);
system("ps -ef");
} else {
sleep(3);
}
return 0;
}
Compilation and Execution Steps
UID PID PPID C STIME TTY TIME CMD root 1 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh /usr/bin/mysqld_safe mysql 101 1 0 Jan20 ? 00:04:41 /usr/libexec/mysqld --basedir=/usr --datadir=/var/lib/mysql --plugin-dir=/usr/lib64/mysql/plugin --user=mysql --log-error=/var/log/mariadb/mariadb.log --pid-file=/run/mariadb/mariadb.pid --socket=/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock 3108506 5445 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 5446 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 21894 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 21895 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 27309 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 27311 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 8295652 32407 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:39 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 4688328 49830 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:18 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 50854 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:18 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 4688328 64936 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 64937 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 67563 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 68128 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:07 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 68238 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 68999 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 69212 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 74090 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 74091 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 74298 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 74299 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 6327201 74901 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:38 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 6327201 77274 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:27 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 78621 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:33 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 80536 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:01:09 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 6327201 80542 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:01:09 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 82050 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 82051 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 7528790 84116 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:27 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 84136 0 19 Jan20 ? 21:13:38 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 84140 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:28 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 84395 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 84396 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 84397 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 84928 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 84929 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 84930 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:30 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 7528790 84970 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:34 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 85787 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 85789 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 86368 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 86402 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 87027 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 7528790 87629 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:39 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 87719 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:27 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 4688328 88138 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 88140 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 89353 0 99 Jan22 ? 2-07:35:14 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 5942779 91836 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 125358 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 125359 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 127456 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 127457 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 8023807 163891 0 0 05:41 ? 00:00:00 main 8023807 164130 0 0 05:41 ? 00:00:00 sh -c cd /home/cg/root/8023807; timeout 10s main 8023807 164136 164130 0 05:41 ? 00:00:00 timeout 10s main 8023807 164137 164136 0 05:41 ? 00:00:00 main 8023807 164138 164137 0 05:41 ? 00:00:00 main 8023807 164139 164138 0 05:41 ? 00:00:00 ps -ef UID PID PPID C STIME TTY TIME CMD root 1 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh /usr/bin/mysqld_safe mysql 101 1 0 Jan20 ? 00:04:41 /usr/libexec/mysqld --basedir=/usr --datadir=/var/lib/mysql --plugin-dir=/usr/lib64/mysql/plugin --user=mysql --log-error=/var/log/mariadb/mariadb.log --pid-file=/run/mariadb/mariadb.pid --socket=/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock 3108506 5445 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 5446 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 21894 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 21895 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 27309 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 27311 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 8295652 32407 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:39 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 4688328 49830 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:18 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 50854 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:18 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 4688328 64936 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 64937 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 67563 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 68128 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:07 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 68238 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 68999 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 69212 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 74090 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 74091 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 74298 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 74299 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 6327201 74901 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:38 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 6327201 77274 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:27 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 78621 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:33 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 80536 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:01:09 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 6327201 80542 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:01:09 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 82050 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 82051 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 7528790 84116 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:27 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 84136 0 19 Jan20 ? 21:13:48 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 84140 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:28 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 84395 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 84396 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 84397 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 84928 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 84929 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 84930 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:30 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 7528790 84970 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:34 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 85787 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 85789 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 86368 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 86402 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 87027 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 7528790 87629 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:39 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 87719 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:27 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 4688328 88138 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 88140 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 89353 0 99 Jan22 ? 2-07:35:24 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 5942779 91836 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 125358 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 125359 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 127456 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 127457 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 8023807 164138 0 0 05:41 ? 00:00:00 main 8023807 164897 164138 0 05:41 ? 00:00:00 ps -ef
Note − Observe that the parent process PID was 94 and the child process PID was 95. After the parent process exits, the PPID of the child process changed from 94 to 1 (init process).
Following are the variants of system calls to monitor the child process/es −
- wait()
- waitpid()
- waitid()
The wait() system call would wait for one of the children to terminate and return its termination status in the buffer as explained below.
#include <sys/types.h> #include <sys/wait.h> pid_t wait(int *status);
This call returns the process ID of the terminated child on success and -1 on failure. The wait() system call suspends the execution of the current process and waits indefinitely until one of its children terminates. The termination status from the child is available in status.
Let us modify the previous program, so that the parent process now waits for the child process.
/* File name: parentprocess_waits.c */
#include<stdio.h>
int main() {
int pid;
int status;
pid = fork();
// Child process
if (pid == 0) {
system("ps -ef");
sleep(10);
system("ps -ef");
return 3; //exit status is 3 from child process
} else {
sleep(3);
wait(&status);
printf("In parent process: exit status from child is decimal %d, hexa %0x\n", status, status);
}
return 0;
}
Compilation and Execution Steps
UID PID PPID C STIME TTY TIME CMD root 1 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:00 /bin/sh /usr/bin/mysqld_safe mysql 101 1 0 Jan20 ? 00:04:42 /usr/libexec/mysqld --basedir=/usr --datadir=/var/lib/mysql --plugin-dir=/usr/lib64/mysql/plugin --user=mysql --log-error=/var/log/mariadb/mariadb.log --pid-file=/run/mariadb/mariadb.pid --socket=/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock 3108506 5445 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 5446 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 21894 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 21895 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 27309 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 27311 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 8295652 32407 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:39 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 4688328 49830 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:18 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 50854 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:18 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 4688328 64936 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 64937 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 67563 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 68128 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:07 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 68238 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 68999 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 69212 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 74090 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 74091 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 74298 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 74299 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 6327201 74901 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:38 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 6327201 77274 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:27 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 78621 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:33 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 80536 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:01:09 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 6327201 80542 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:01:09 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 82050 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 82051 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:59 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 7528790 84116 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:27 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 84136 0 19 Jan20 ? 21:19:39 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 84140 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:28 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 84395 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 84396 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 84397 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 84928 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 84929 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:29 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 84930 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:30 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 7528790 84970 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:34 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 3108506 85787 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 85789 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 86368 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 86402 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 87027 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 7528790 87629 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:39 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 7528790 87719 0 0 Jan20 ? 00:00:27 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 4688328 88138 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 88140 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:14 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 5942779 89353 0 99 Jan22 ? 2-07:41:15 /sbin/klogd -c 1 -x -x 5942779 91836 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:00:00 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 125358 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 125359 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 4688328 127456 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 3108506 127457 0 0 Jan22 ? 00:01:19 [/sbin/klogd -c ] <defunct> 8023807 191762 0 0 05:47 ? 00:00:00 sh -c cd /home/cg/root/8023807; timeout 10s main 8023807 191768 191762 0 05:47 ? 00:00:00 timeout 10s main 8023807 191769 191768 0 05:47 ? 00:00:00 main 8023807 191770 191769 0 05:47 ? 00:00:00 main 8023807 192193 0 0 05:47 ? 00:00:00 sh -c cd /home/cg/root/8023807; timeout 10s main 8023807 192199 192193 0 05:47 ? 00:00:00 timeout 10s main 8023807 192200 192199 0 05:47 ? 00:00:00 main 8023807 192201 192200 0 05:47 ? 00:00:00 main 8023807 192202 192201 0 05:47 ? 00:00:00 ps -ef
Note − Even though child returns the exit status of 3, why the parent process sees that as 768. The status is stored in the higher order byte, so it is stored in hexadecimal format as 0X0300, which is 768 in decimal. Normal termination is as follows
| Higher Order Byte (Bits 8 to 15) | Lower Order Byte (Bits 0 to 7) |
| Exit status (0 to 255) | 0 |
The wait() system call has limitation such as it can only wait until the exit of the next child. If we need to wait for a specific child it is not possible using wait(), however, it is possible using waitpid() system call.
The waitpid() system call would wait for specified children to terminate and return its termination status in the buffer as explained below.
#include <sys/types.h> #include <sys/wait.h> pid_t waitpid(pid_t pid, int *status, int options);
The above call returns the process ID of the terminated child on success and -1 on failure. The waitpid() system call suspends the execution of the current process and waits indefinitely until the specified children (as per pid value) terminates. The termination status from the child is available in the status.
The value of pid can be either of the following −
< -1 − Wait for any child process whose process group ID is equal to the absolute value of pid.
-1 − Wait for any child process, which equals to that of wait() system call.
0 − Wait for any child process whose process group ID is equal to that of the calling process.
>0 − Wait for any child process whose process ID is equal to the value of pid.
By default, waitpid() system call waits only for the terminated children but this default behavior can be modified using the options argument.
Now let us consider a program as an example, waiting for a specific process with its process id.
/* Filename: waitpid_test.c */
#include<stdio.h>
#include<unistd.h>
#include<sys/types.h>
#include<sys/wait.h>
int main() {
int pid;
int pids[3];
int status;
int numprocesses = 0;
int total_processes = 3;
while (numprocesses < total_processes) {
pid = fork();
// Child process
if (pid == 0) {
printf("In child process: process id is %d\n", getpid());
sleep(5);
return 4;
} else {
pids[numprocesses] = pid;
numprocesses++;
printf("In parent process: created process number: %d\n", pid);
}
}
// Waiting for 3rd child process
waitpid(pids[total_processes - 1], &status, 0);
if (WIFEXITED(status) != 0) {
printf("process %d exited normally\n", pids[total_processes - 1]);
printf("exit status from child is %d\n", WEXITSTATUS(status));
} else {
printf("process %d not exited normally\n", pids[total_processes - 1]);
}
return 0;
}
After compilation and execution, following is the output.
In child process: process id is 32528 In parent process: created process number: 32528 In child process: process id is 32529 In parent process: created process number: 32528 In parent process: created process number: 32529 In child process: process id is 32530 In parent process: created process number: 32528 In parent process: created process number: 32529 In parent process: created process number: 32530 process 32530 exited normally exit status from child is 4
Now, let us check for waitid() system call. This system call waits for the child process to change state.
#include <sys/wait.h> int waitpid(idtype_t idtype, id_t id, siginfo_t *infop, int options);
The above system call waits for the child process to change the state and this call suspends the current/calling process until any of its child process changes its state. The argument ‘infop’ is to record the current state of the child. This call returns immediately, if the process has already changed its state.
The value of idtype can be either of the following −
P_PID − Wait for any child process whose process ID is equal to that of id.
P_PGID − Wait for any child process, whose process group ID is equal to that of id.
P_ALL − Wait for any child process and id is ignored.
The options argument is to specify which state changes and this can be formed with bitwise OR operation with the below-mentioned flags −
WCONTINUED − Returns the status of any child that was stopped and has been continued.
WEXITED − Waits for the process to exit.
WNOHANG − Returns immediately.
WSTOPPED − Waits for the process of any child that has stopped, upon receipt of the signal and returns the status.
This call returns 0, if it returns due to a change of the state of one of its children and WNOHANG is used. It returns –1, in case of error and sets the appropriate error number.
/* Filename: waitid_test.c */
#include<stdio.h>
#include<unistd.h>
#include<sys/types.h>
#include<sys/wait.h>
int main() {
int pid;
int pids[3];
int status;
int numprocesses = 0;
int total_processes = 3;
siginfo_t siginfo;
while (numprocesses < total_processes) {
pid = fork();
// Child process
if (pid == 0) {
printf("In child process: process id is %d\n", getpid());
sleep(5);
return 2;
} else {
pids[numprocesses] = pid;
numprocesses++;
printf("In parent process: created process number: %d\n", pid);
}
}
// Waiting for 3rd child process
status = waitid(P_PID, pids[total_processes - 1], &siginfo, WEXITED);
if (status == -1) {
perror("waitid error");
return 1;
}
printf("Info received from waitid is: ");
printf("PID of child: %d, real user id of child: %d\n", siginfo.si_pid, siginfo.si_uid);
return 0;
}
After execution and compilation of the above program, following is the result.
In child process: process id is 35390 In parent process: created process number: 35390 In child process: process id is 35391 In parent process: created process number: 35390 In parent process: created process number: 35391 In child process: process id is 35392 In parent process: created process number: 35390 In parent process: created process number: 35391 In parent process: created process number: 35392 Info received from waitid is: PID of child: 35392, real user id of child: 4581875