From: Brandon S. Allbery (bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org)
Date: 04/02/93


From: bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org (Brandon S. Allbery)
Subject: Re: Process numbers
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1993 23:55:52 GMT

In article <1pcoau$mlp@agate.berkeley.edu> dancy@uclink.berkeley.edu (Franklin Ahmon Dancy) writes:
>I just installed the cron daemon and the "at" program. At runs a program
>every minute. My process numbers are increasing rapidly. I'm wondering
>if there is a limit to how high the process numbers will go. PS lists
>5 digits but I figure the process ids would be 4 bytes giving a limit
>of about 4 billion. What's the real scoop? Will the wrap around at
>any point or will the system croak?

Early TRS-80 Model 16 Xenix had process number limits. Linux has come farther
than that. :-)

Process IDs are two bytes and automatically wrap around, as they do in any
(working :-) *ix.

...someone will have to explain to me why "at" is so anachronistic. "atrun"
went out with System III; it should be part of cron now.

++Brandon

-- 
Brandon S. Allbery                                       bsa@kf8nh.wariat.org

It's not too late to turn back from the "Gates" of Hell... Linux: the FREE 32-bit operating system, available NOW. Why waaaaaait for NT?