Re: Regarding Process and Task.

Richard B. Johnson (root@chaos.analogic.com)
Mon, 27 Dec 1999 11:46:34 -0500 (EST)


On Mon, 27 Dec 1999, Gaurav Yadav wrote:

>
>
>
> Hi Gurus,
> This time I am with a small and silly question,because I am
> confused by listening to too many answers.
> What is the difference between Task and Process ?
> Are they the same or
> Is it only naming convention of Linux/Unix and Win
> or Is it having a major difference ( Please clarify ).
>
> Thanks in anticipation,
>
> - GAURAV
>

These words seem to be used interchangeably. However, a 'process'
is a functional software entity that has a unique identity.
A 'task', however, could be a thread or even a called procedure.

So, what `ps` shows are processes. They have unique PIDs.
What `strace` shows are (sometimes) tasks executing within your
process context.

Cheers,
Dick Johnson

Penguin : Linux version 2.3.13 on an i686 machine (400.59 BogoMips).
Warning : The end of the world as we know it requires a new calendar.
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