UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

How do you define of parallel processes? And what is your distinction between parallel and background?

"&" causes shell to fork another copy of itself.

Is this homework?

1st------this is not home work.
2nd------I am good @ my homework.
3rd------parallel means , both scripts needs to start simultaneously,
let a.sh & , this will give the pid and run in back ground...and then b.sh will run ....

but i need both scripts to run at same time.

hopes kahuna you are clear and i gabe u clear explanation.
please let me know, if you have solution for this.

If you have a single processor, there is no such thing as starting scripts "simultaneously". One will be started first, then the other.

Actually "a.sh &" and "b.sh &" will run both scripts concurrently. But one will start first, then the other. To verify, try running 2 scripts in the "background" that each have a 10 second sleep in them. You will find that they will complete in less than 20 seconds.

Again, how do you distinguish parallel from background?

hey kahuna,

even if u do have single processor , you can divide the process between the both scripts......but i really dun't know how to achive this.....by fork() or some other methods.


Any body help me out.

That is exactly what the "&" does. It creates a new process so that processor time is allocated to the new process along with the existing processes.

Since this is "not homework", perhaps it would be better if we concentrate on exactly what you are trying to accomplish. Exactly what are you trying to do?

hey kahuna,

please note that i would like to accomplish that, a.sh and b.sh should run at single time....not a fracton of sec delay.....