baby.txt

BABY(1fun)                                                          BABY(1fun)



NAME
       baby — create new process from two parents

SYNOPSIS
       baby −sex [m|f] [−name name]

DESCRIPTION
       baby  is initiated when one parent process polls another server process
       through a socket connection in the BSD version or through pipes in  the
       System  V  implementation.  baby runs at low priority for approximately
       forty weeks and then terminates with a heavy system load.  Most systems
       require  constant monitoring when baby reaches its final stages of exe‐
       cution.

       Older implementations of baby did not require both initiating processes
       to  be present at the time of completion.  In those versions the initi‐
       ating process which was not present was awakened and  notified  of  the
       results  upon  completion.  It has since been determined that the pres‐
       ence of both parent processes result in a generally lower  system  load
       at  completion,  and  thus  current versions of baby expect both parent
       processes to be active during the final stages.

       Successful completion of baby results in the creation and naming  of  a
       new  process.   Parent  processes  then broadcast messages to all other
       processes, local and remote, informing them of their new status.

OPTIONS
       −sex   define the gender of the created process

       −name  assign the name name to the new process

EXAMPLES
              baby −sex f −name Jacqueline

       completed successfully on July 9, 1992 at 9:11pm.   Jacqueline’s  vital
       statistics:  8  pounds  3  oz,  20  inches, long dark hair.  The parent
       process, Kim Dunbar, is reportedly doing fine.

SEE ALSO
       cigar(6), dump(5), cry(3).

BUGS
       Despite its complexity, baby only knows one signal, SIGCHLD, (or SIGCLD
       in  the  System  V implementation), which it uses to contact the parent
       processes.  One or both parent processes must  then  inspect  the  baby
       process to determine the cause of the signal.

       The  sleep(1) command may not work as expected on either parent process
       for some time afterward, as each new instance of baby  sends  intermit‐
       tent  signals to the parent processes which must be handled by the par‐
       ents immediately.

       A baby process will frequently dump core, requiring either or both par‐
       ent processes to clean up after it.

       Despite  the reams of available documentation on invoking and maintain‐
       ing baby, most parent processes are overwhelmed.

AUTHORS
       From a man page by Joe Beck, <beck@cs.ualberta.ca>.



                                                                    BABY(1fun)