kindprocessen

Kindprocessen, or child process, is a process created by another process, the parent. In most operating systems, processes are organized in a hierarchical tree. The child receives its own process identifier (PID) and typically inherits attributes from the parent, such as user credentials and some open file descriptors, but it has an independent execution context.

Creation and execution

In Unix-like systems the common method to create a child is fork(), which creates a new process with a copy of the parent's memory space. The child may then replace its program image with execve() to run a new program. In Windows, CreateProcess performs a similar role. After creation, the parent and child run concurrently; the child’s memory is separate from the parent’s, with copy-on-write semantics in many environments. The child may continue to run or execute a different program after an exec-like step.

Lifecycle and termination

The parent can wait for the child’s termination to obtain its exit status. If the parent exits before the child, the child becomes an orphan and is adopted by the init process (PID 1 in many systems). When a child terminates, it releases resources only after the parent reaps it; otherwise the process entry remains as a zombie until waited on by the parent. Proper reaping prevents resource leakage.

Communication and usage

Inter-process communication mechanisms such as pipes, signals, and shared memory enable coordination between parent and child. Kindprocessen are used for parallel task execution, creating daemons, building processing pipelines, and maintaining worker pools in various applications.