how to identify a zombie process and control it after parent dies

vijaya_svk · 01-21-2008, 04:34 AM

Hi
I have created a zombie process using fork,
and i am viewing the processes using
$ps -al
fedora@fedora-vm vijay]$ ps -al
F S UID PID PPID C PRI NI ADDR SZ WCHAN TTY TIME CMD
0 S 500 2893 2752 0 80 0 - 11193 - pts/4 00:00:09 gedit
1 R 500 4852 1 60 80 0 - 414 - pts/4 00:02:37 a.out
0 R 500 4914 4853 1 80 0 - 1134 - pts/1 00:00:00 ps[/SIZE][/SIZE]

The PPID which is having the value 1 is the zombie process,
Can we say any PPID having 1 is a zombie process or does it represent Zombie with any symbol or any other identification?

Can we have any command over zombie process other than killing it?

unSpawn · 01-21-2008, 05:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vijaya_svk

I have created a zombie process using fork,

No, you haven't ;-p

Quote:

Originally Posted by vijaya_svk

viewing the processes using $ps -al

This is easier:

Code:

/bin/ps ax -eostate,pid,ppid --sort=state 2>/dev/null | grep ^Z

Quote:

Originally Posted by vijaya_svk

Can we have any command over zombie process other than killing it?

Technically it isn't a process any more but "just" an entry in the process table consuming almost no system resources. Control is handled by 'init'.