Fork (operating System)
In computing, when a process forks, it creates a copy of itself. Under Unix-like operating systems, this is implemented with the fork system call. The original process that calls fork is the parent process, and the newly created process is the child process. Both processes return from the system call and execute the next instruction.
The fork operation creates a separate address space for the child. The child process has an exact copy of all the memory segments of the parent process, though if copy-on-write semantics are implemented actual physical memory may not be assigned (i.e., both processes may share the same physical memory segments for a while). Both the parent and child processes possess the same code segments, but execute independently of each other.
Read more about Fork (operating System): Usage, Importance of Forking in Unix, Process Address Space, Fork and Page Sharing, Vfork and Page Sharing, MMUless Systems, Forking in Other Operating Systems
Famous quotes containing the word fork:
“Wherever a man separates from the multitude, and goes his own way in this mood, there indeed is a fork in the road, though ordinary travelers may see only a gap in the paling. His solitary path across lots will turn out the higher way of the two.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)