A background process is a computer process that runs "behind the scenes" (i.e. in the background) and without user intervention. Typical tasks for these processes include logging, system monitoring, scheduling, and user notification.
On a Unix system, a background process or job can be further identified as one whose group ID differs from its terminal group ID. This type of process is unable to receive keyboard signals from and typically will not send output to its parent terminal. This more technical definition does not distinguish between whether or not the process can receive user intervention.
Although background processes are typically used for purposes requiring few resources, any process can be run in the background, and even though the process is running in the background, where it can't be seen, it behaves like any other process.
Read more about Background Process: Example, Launch & Resumption On Unix, Daemon, Smartphones
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