FORK(II) 8/5/73 FORK(II)





FORK(II)                     8/5/73                      FORK(II)







NAME

     fork  -  spawn new process



SYNOPSIS

     (fork = 2.)

     sys fork

     (new process return)

     (old process return)



     fork( )



DESCRIPTION

     Fork is the only way new processes  are  created.   The  new

     process's  core  image  is  a  copy of that of the caller of

     fork.  The only distinction is the return location  and  the

     fact  that  r0  in  the  old  (parent)  process contains the

     process ID of the new (child) process.  This process  ID  is

     used by wait.



     The two  returning  processes  share  all  open  files  that

     existed  before  the  call.   In particular, this is the way

     that standard input and output files are passed and also how

     pipes are set up.



     From C, the child process  receives  a  0  return,  and  the

     parent receives a non-zero number which is the process ID of

     the child; a return of -1 indicates inability  to  create  a

     new process.



SEE ALSO

     wait (II), exec (II)



DIAGNOSTICS

     The error bit (c-bit) is set in the old  process  if  a  new

     process  could  not  be  created  because of lack of process

     space.  From C, a return of -1 (not just negative) indicates

     an error.
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