vfork (3p) - Linux Manuals

vfork: create a new process; share virtual memory

PROLOG

This manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. The Linux implementation of this interface may differ (consult the corresponding Linux manual page for details of Linux behavior), or the interface may not be implemented on Linux.

NAME

vfork - create a new process; share virtual memory

SYNOPSIS

#include <unistd.h>

pid_t vfork(void);

DESCRIPTION

The vfork() function shall be equivalent to fork(), except that the behavior is undefined if the process created by vfork() either modifies any data other than a variable of type pid_t used to store the return value from vfork(), or returns from the function in which vfork() was called, or calls any other function before successfully calling _exit() or one of the exec family of functions.

RETURN VALUE

Upon successful completion, vfork() shall return 0 to the child process and return the process ID of the child process to the parent process. Otherwise, -1 shall be returned to the parent, no child process shall be created, and errno shall be set to indicate the error.

ERRORS

The vfork() function shall fail if:

EAGAIN

The system-wide limit on the total number of processes under execution would be exceeded, or the system-imposed limit on the total number of processes under execution by a single user would be exceeded.

ENOMEM

There is insufficient swap space for the new process.

The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

None.

APPLICATION USAGE

Conforming applications are recommended not to depend on vfork(), but to use fork() instead. The vfork() function may be withdrawn in a future version.

On some implementations, vfork() is equivalent to fork().

The vfork() function differs from fork() only in that the child process can share code and data with the calling process (parent process). This speeds cloning activity significantly at a risk to the integrity of the parent process if vfork() is misused.

The use of vfork() for any purpose except as a prelude to an immediate call to a function from the exec family, or to _exit(), is not advised.

The vfork() function can be used to create new processes without fully copying the address space of the old process. If a forked process is simply going to call exec, the data space copied from the parent to the child by fork() is not used. This is particularly inefficient in a paged environment, making vfork() particularly useful. Depending upon the size of the parent's data space, vfork() can give a significant performance improvement over fork().

The vfork() function can normally be used just like fork(). It does not work, however, to return while running in the child's context from the caller of vfork() since the eventual return from vfork() would then return to a no longer existent stack frame. Care should be taken, also, to call _exit() rather than exit() if exec cannot be used, since exit() flushes and closes standard I/O channels, thereby damaging the parent process' standard I/O data structures. (Even with fork(), it is wrong to call exit(), since buffered data would then be flushed twice.)

If signal handlers are invoked in the child process after vfork(), they must follow the same rules as other code in the child process.

RATIONALE

None.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

This function may be withdrawn in a future version.

COPYRIGHT

Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1, 2003 Edition, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. The original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .