NAME

       baby — create new process from two parents

SYNOPSIS

       baby -sex [m|f] [-name name]

DESCRIPTION

       baby is initiated when one parent process polls another server process through a socket connection in the
       BSD version or through pipes in the System V implementation.  baby runs at low priority for approximately
       forty  weeks and then terminates with a heavy system load.  Most systems require constant monitoring when
       baby reaches its final stages of execution.

       Older implementations of baby did not require both initiating processes to be  present  at  the  time  of
       completion.   In those versions the initiating process which was not present was awakened and notified of
       the results upon completion.  It has since been determined that the presence  of  both  parent  processes
       result  in  a  generally  lower  system load at completion, and thus current versions of baby expect both
       parent processes to be active during the final stages.

       Successful completion of baby results in the creation and naming of a new process.  Parent processes then
       broadcast messages to all other processes, local and remote, informing them of their new status.

OPTIONS

       -sex   define the gender of the created process

       -name  assign the name name to the new process

EXAMPLES

              baby -sex f -name Jacqueline

       completed successfully on July 9, 1992 at 9:11pm.  Jacqueline's vital  statistics:  8  pounds  3  oz,  20
       inches, long dark hair.  The parent process, Kim Dunbar, is reportedly doing fine.

SEE ALSO

       cigar(6), dump(5), cry(3).

BUGS

       Despite  its complexity, baby only knows one signal, SIGCHLD, (or SIGCLD in the System V implementation),
       which it uses to contact the parent processes.  One or both parent processes must then inspect  the  baby
       process to determine the cause of the signal.

       The  sleep(1)  command may not work as expected on either parent process for some time afterward, as each
       new instance of baby sends intermittent signals to the parent processes which  must  be  handled  by  the
       parents immediately.

       A baby process will frequently dump core, requiring either or both parent processes to clean up after it.

       Despite  the reams of available documentation on invoking and maintaining baby, most parent processes are
       overwhelmed.

AUTHORS

       From a man page by Joe Beck, <beck@cs.ualberta.ca>.

                                                                                                      BABY(1fun)