GETPGRP(2) BSD Programmer's Manual GETPGRP(2)NAME
getpgrp - get process group
SYNOPSIS
#include <unistd.h>
pid_t
getpgrp(void);
pid_t
getpgid(pid_t pid);
DESCRIPTION
The process group of the current process is returned by getpgrp(). The
process group of the pid process is returned by getpgid().
Process groups are used for distribution of signals, and by terminals to
arbitrate requests for their input: processes that have the same process
group as the terminal are foreground and may read, while others will
block with a signal if they attempt to read.
This call is thus used by programs such as csh(1) to create process
groups in implementing job control. The tcgetpgrp() and tcsetpgrp() calls
are used to get/set the process group of the control terminal.
ERRORSgetpgrp() always succeeds, however getpgid() will succeed unless:
[EPERM] The current process and the process pid are not in the same
session.
[ESRCH] There is no process with a process ID equal to pid.
SEE ALSOsetpgid(2), termios(4)STANDARDS
This version of getpgrp() differs from past Berkeley versions by not tak-
ing a pid_t pid argument. This incompatibility is required by IEEE Std
1003.1-1988 ("POSIX").
From the IEEE Std 1003.1-1988 ("POSIX") Rationale:
4.3BSD provides a getpgrp() function that returns the process group ID
for a specified process. Although this function is used to support job
control, all known job-control shells always specify the calling process
with this function. Thus, the simpler System V getpgrp() suffices, and
the added complexity of the 4.3BSD getpgrp() has been omitted from PO-
SIX.1.
The getpgrp() function conforms to IEEE Std 1003.1-1988 ("POSIX"). The
getpgid() function call is derived from its usage in System V Release 4,
and first appeared in NetBSD 1.2A.
HISTORY
The getpgrp() function call appeared in 4.0BSD.
MirOS BSD #10-current June 4, 1993 1
