# Command: waitPID

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Name:

    waitPID - wait or check for a child process to terminate

Synopsis:

    PIDin NoHangFlag waitPID -> Status NormalExitFlag PIDout
      -> 0

Description:

    The waitPID function suspends execution of the calling process
      until status information for the given child is available,
      or until delivery of a signal whose action is either to
      execute a signal-catching function or to terminate the
      process. If status information is available prior to the call
      to waitPID, it returns immediately.

      The waitPID function returns the process ID of the child for
      which status is being reported.
      Zero is returned immediately, if the NoHangFlag is set
      and no status is available.

      Alternatives: Function waitPID_i_b (undocumented)
      -> behaviour and synopsis are the same.

Parameters:

    In : PIDin(integer):	 -1: Wait for any child process.
      positive: Wait for the specific child whose
      process ID is equal to PIDin.
      (	 0: -not supported-)
      (less than -1: -not supported-)

      NoHangFlag(boolean):
      If true, causes waitPID function not to suspend execution
      of the calling process if status is not immediately
      available for any of the child processes specified by
      PIDin. In this case, zero is returned as only result.

      Out: PIDout(integer):
      The process ID of the child for which status is being
      reported.

      NormalExitFlag(boolean):
      True, if status is returned for a child that terminated
      normally, i.e. by a call to exit() or by returning from
      main(). In that case, the exit code is reported in the Status
      argument (see below).
      False, if status is returned for a child that terminated due
      to a signal that was not caught. In that case, the number of
      that signal is reported in the Status argument (see below).

      Status(integer):
      If NormalExitFlag is true, this reports the child's exit
      code, i.e. the low-order eight bits of the status argument
      that the child passed to exit(), or the value the child
      process returned from main().
      If NormalExitFlag is false, this reports the number of the
      signal that caused the termination of the child process. Look
      up this number in signaldict, to know what it means.

      Examples:1. {(sleep 3) sysexec} spoon false waitPID
      2. {(ls) sysexec} spoon false waitPID
      Note the parent process' SLI-Prompt appearing AFTER execution of the
      command finished.
      This is different to the call "{(ls) sysexec} spoon" only.
      3. 23 false waitPID

Bugs:

    -

Remarks:

    The features normally used only by the UNIX-shell-program
      (such as the WUNTRACED-option) are currently not supported,
      although values <=0 can be passed through PIDin.
      See any documentation of POSIX-function waitpid().
      Discription text is mainly taken from
      Donald A. Lewine, "POSIX programmer's guide", O'Reilly&Associates,Inc.

Author:

    R Kupper

FirstVersion:

    Apr 13 1999

SeeAlso:

- wait
- spoon
- signaldict
- getPGRP

Source:

    /opt/conda/conda-bld/nest_1512418852064/work/nest-2.12.0/sli/processes.h

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