I use them when dealing with CGI scripts. Some intensive operations that a client wants to have total control over (no cron jobs) I handle by using forks.

For instance, the client wants to run a billing process when he mails an issue of his magazine. It takes a long time to run credit card transactions on 85 accounts. I show him a thank you page, then get on with the processing in the 'background'.

Richard - oakbox
www.oakbox.com
"If what I'm saying doesn't make sense, that's because sense cannot be made, it's something that must be sensed"-J.S. Hall