fork returns the pid of the child in the parent.

my $cpid;

{
    defined($cpid = fork) or die $!;
    $cpid and last;
    # do child stuff and exit.
    # exec is good here
}

# parent goes on, knowing $cpid

[download]

exec replaces the current program, taking over its pid and never returning.

After Compline,
Zaxo

In reply to Re: Executing a process in the background AND getting its pid by Zaxo
in thread Executing a process in the background AND getting its pid by henrikbe

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