mpich2\mpd & output

toma20082010 · 03-09-2011, 07:16 PM

hi there,

when we type mpd & to bring up ring on a single node
the output is a random number,like this:
>>mpd &
>>[1] 5450

anybody knows what is this resulting number?

ps: i dont think its a port number because when i type
>>mpd -e
its prints out the port number mpd takes

thanks,
hatem

corp769 · 03-09-2011, 07:39 PM

This "number" is the PID of the mpd process. PID stands for process identification number, it is used to give the process a PID in which is known to the system. The reason why it comes up like that is because when you append the & after any command, it sends the process to the background of the terminal, in which the program being ran because a child process of the terminal.