12-08-2009
The Language of the Unix World should Change
We should put an end to saying "orphan", "kill child", "zombie".
Anyone,
We should change the awful metaphors used in the language of managing Unix processes. I believe that this still humbly local initiative hides a great importance of how the world of Unix looks and feels to every user.
Example:
No more "kill". Use stop, remove or whatever else. It doesn't matter if that's already taken, we will always have vast language reserves.
If a process can be called a child/parrent then it should not be "killed" and "reaped", but collected. I prefer the playground to the graveyard, don't know about you.
Think about the already present "forest" metaphor. We could have roots an branches again. Or to seas, flows and rivers. Or flocks and packs. Or kings, counts, servants and agents. If we could "dam", "stem", "draw", why should we kill?
Since this is standard, it can change. One shouldn't think about how great a challenge it, one should just start walking against it.
You might feel this is irrelevant to what is actually done with a computer system and what it's for. But it's a fact that metaphors are used in illustrations of knowledge as well as in making the world we live and work in ours. If we care for what we wear and what you have in the house, why shouldn't you care of the words and ideas with which you express what you are doing?
I start today by creating links/aliases for the commands I don't like to hear on each of the 50 or so real and virtual machines I set foot on.
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KILL(1) BSD General Commands Manual KILL(1)
NAME
kill -- terminate or signal a process
SYNOPSIS
kill [-s signal_name] pid ...
kill -l [exit_status]
kill -signal_name pid ...
kill -signal_number pid ...
DESCRIPTION
The kill utility sends a signal to the process(es) specified by the pid operand(s).
Only the super-user may send signals to other users' processes.
The options are as follows:
-s signal_name
A symbolic signal name specifying the signal to be sent instead of the default TERM.
-l [exit_status]
Display the name of the signal corresponding to exit_status. exit_status may be the exit status of a command killed by a signal (see
the special sh(1) parameter '?') or a signal number.
If no operand is given, display the names of all the signals.
-signal_name
A symbolic signal name specifying the signal to be sent instead of the default TERM.
-signal_number
A non-negative decimal integer, specifying the signal to be sent instead of the default TERM.
The following pids have special meanings:
-1 If superuser, broadcast the signal to all processes; otherwise broadcast to all processes belonging to the user.
0 Broadcast the signal to all processes in the current process group belonging to the user.
Some of the more commonly used signals:
1 HUP (hang up)
2 INT (interrupt)
3 QUIT (quit)
6 ABRT (abort)
9 KILL (non-catchable, non-ignorable kill)
14 ALRM (alarm clock)
15 TERM (software termination signal)
kill is a built-in to csh(1); it allows job specifiers of the form ``%...'' as arguments so process id's are not as often used as kill argu-
ments. See csh(1) for details.
SEE ALSO
csh(1), pgrep(1), pkill(1), ps(1), kill(2), sigaction(2), signal(7)
STANDARDS
The kill function is expected to be IEEE Std 1003.2 (``POSIX.2'') compatible.
HISTORY
A kill command appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.
BSD
April 28, 1995 BSD