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fork
fork is the Unix system call that creates a new process by duplicating the one that calls it.
After fork, you have two nearly identical processes — parent and child — each continuing from the same point with its own copy of memory. It is the classic Unix way to spawn new work, often paired with execve to then replace the child's program with a different one. Related calls like clone offer finer control over what the child shares with the parent.
See also
- fork / cloneCloning creates a new process or thread; the fresh child begins execution at its own defined entry point.
- file descriptorA file descriptor is a small integer the operating system hands you to refer to an open file, socket, or other I/O channel.