NAME

       baby — create new process from two parents

SYNOPSIS

       baby -sex [m|f] [-name name]

DESCRIPTION

       baby  is  initiated  when one parent process polls another server process through a socket
       connection in the BSD version or through pipes in the System V implementation.  baby  runs
       at  low  priority  for  approximately  forty weeks and then terminates with a heavy system
       load.  Most systems require constant monitoring when baby  reaches  its  final  stages  of
       execution.

       Older  implementations  of baby did not require both initiating processes to be present at
       the time of completion.  In those versions the initiating process which  was  not  present
       was  awakened  and  notified of the results upon completion.  It has since been determined
       that the presence of both parent processes result in a  generally  lower  system  load  at
       completion,  and  thus  current versions of baby expect both parent processes to be active
       during the final stages.

       Successful completion of baby results in the creation and naming of a new process.  Parent
       processes then broadcast messages to all other processes, local and remote, informing them
       of their new status.

OPTIONS

       -sex   define the gender of the created process

       -name  assign the name name to the new process

EXAMPLES

              baby -sex f -name Jacqueline

       completed successfully on July 9, 1992 at 9:11pm.  Jacqueline's vital statistics: 8 pounds
       3  oz,  20  inches,  long  dark hair.  The parent process, Kim Dunbar, is reportedly doing
       fine.

SEE ALSO

       cigar(6), dump(5), cry(3).

BUGS

       Despite its complexity, baby only knows one signal, SIGCHLD, (or SIGCLD in  the  System  V
       implementation),  which  it  uses  to  contact  the  parent processes.  One or both parent
       processes must then inspect the baby process to determine the cause of the signal.

       The sleep(1) command may not work as expected on  either  parent  process  for  some  time
       afterward, as each new instance of baby sends intermittent signals to the parent processes
       which must be handled by the parents immediately.

       A baby process will frequently dump core, requiring either or  both  parent  processes  to
       clean up after it.

       Despite the reams of available documentation on invoking and maintaining baby, most parent
       processes are overwhelmed.

AUTHORS

       From a man page by Joe Beck, <beck@cs.ualberta.ca>.

                                                                                          BABY(1)