FORK(2)

NAME
fork - create a new process

SYNOPSIS
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <unistd.h>
pid_t
fork(void);

DESCRIPTION
fork() causes creation of a new process. The new process (child process) is an exact copy of the calling process (parent process) except for the following:

•   The child process has a unique process ID.

•   The child process has a different parent process ID (i.e., the process ID of the parent process).

•   The child process has its own copy of the parent's descriptors. These descriptors reference the same underlying objects, so that, for instance, file pointers in file objects are shared between the child and the parent, so that an lseek(2) on a descriptor in the child process can affect a subsequent read(2) or write(2) by the parent. This descriptor copying is also used by the shell to establish standard input and output for newly created processes as well as to set up pipes.

•   The child process' resource utilizations are set to 0; see setrlimit(2).

RETURN VALUES
Upon successful completion, fork() returns a value of 0 to the child process and returns the process ID of the child process to the parent process. Otherwise, a value of -1 is returned to the parent process, no child process is created, and the global variable errno is set to indicate the error.

ERRORS
fork() will fail and no child process will be created if:

[EAGAIN]
    The system-imposed limit on the total number of processes under execution would be exceeded. This limit is configuration-dependent.

[EAGAIN]
    The limit RLIMIT_NPROC on the total number of processes under execution by this user id would be exceeded.

[ENOMEM]
    There is insufficient swap space for the new process.

SEE ALSO
execve(2), setrlimit(2), wait(2)

STANDARDS
The fork() function conforms to p1003.1-90.

HISTORY
A fork() system call appeared in AT&T UNIX.