Process identifier
|
|
In computing, the process identifier (normally referred to as the process ID or just PID) is a number used by some operating system kernels (such as that of UNIX or Windows NT) to uniquely identify a process.
Under Unix, the PID of a newly created child process is returned by the fork() system call to the parent.
The PID can be passed to waitpid() or kill() to perform actions on the given process.
- This article was originally based on material from the Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, which is licensed under the GFDL.