Using fork() in C/C++ – a minimum working example « timmurphy.org

Using fork() in C/C++ – a minimum working example « timmurphy.org:

source:

http://timmurphy.org/2014/04/26/using-fork-in-cc-a-minimum-working-example/

In a C or C++ program, fork() can be used to create a new process, known as a child process. This child is initially a copy of the the parent, but can be used to run a different branch of the program or even execute a completely different program. After forking, child and parent processes run in parallel. Any variables local to the parent process will have been copied for the child process, so updating a variable in one process will not affect the other.

Consider the following example program:

#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
    printf("--beginning of program\n");

    int counter = 0;
    pid_t pid = fork();

    if (pid == 0)
    {
        // child process
        int i = 0;
        for (; i < 200; ++i)
        {
            printf("child process: counter=%d\n", ++counter);
        }
    }
    else if (pid > 0)
    {
        // parent process
        int j = 0;
        for (; j < 200; ++j)
        {
            printf("parent process: counter=%d\n", ++counter);
        }
    }
    else
    {
        // fork failed
        printf("fork() failed!\n");
        return 1;
    }

    printf("--end of program--\n");

    return 0;
}

This program declares a counter variable, set to zero, before fork()ing. After the fork call, we have two processes running in parallel, both incrementing their own version of counter. Each process will run to completion and exit. Because the processes run in parallel, we have no way of knowing which will finish first. Running this program will print something similar to what is shown below, though results may vary from one run to the next.

--beginning of program
parent process: counter=1
parent process: counter=2
parent process: counter=3
child process: counter=1
parent process: counter=4
...
--end of program--
...
child process: counter=200
--end of program--




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