Signals and Daemon

Process
MODULE-5
Signals
What are Signals in UNIX?
A signal is a software interrupt sent to a process to notify it that a specific event has
occurred.
It is used for process control, communication, and error handling in UNIX systems.
In simple words:
A signal tells a process that something important has happened.

It is used for:
Process control
Error handling
Inter-process communication (IPC)
Signals
Key Characteristics of Signals Why Signals Are Needed (Purpose)

Signals are asynchronous Signals are used to:

Signals are process-specific Terminate processes (SIGKILL, SIGTERM)

They interrupt the normal flow of execution

Detect illegal memory access (SIGSEGV)

Handle keyboard interrupts (SIGINT)

A signal can:
Terminate a process Synchronize parent and child (SIGCHLD)
Stop a process
Handle timeouts (SIGALRM)
Resume a process
Be handled by a user-defined function
Support IPC (process communication)
Common UNIX Signals
Signal Name Signal No Purpose

SIGINT 2 Interrupt from keyboard (Ctrl + C)

SIGKILL 9 Kill process forcefully

SIGTERM 15 Request termination

SIGSTOP 19 Stop process

SIGCONT 18 Continue stopped process

SIGSEGV 11 Segmentation fault

SIGALRM 14 Timer signal

SIGCHLD 17 Child process terminated

How Signals Are Generated
How Signals Are Generated

Signals can be generated by:

Keyboard input
◦ Ctrl + C → SIGINT
◦ Ctrl + Z → SIGTSTP

Hardware errors
◦ Divide by zero
◦ Invalid memory access

System calls
◦ kill()
◦ raise()

Process events
◦ Child termination → SIGCHLD
SIGCLD / SIGCHLD –
SEMANTICS
1. What is SIGCLD / SIGCHLD?

SIGCLD is the old System V name

SIGCHLD is the modern POSIX/Linux name

It is a signal sent to the parent process when its child process changes state

A child process may:

Terminate normally

Terminate abnormally

Stop

Resume

In all these cases, SIGCHLD is sent to the parent

SIGCLD / SIGCHLD –
SEMANTICS
4. Default Action of SIGCHLD
2. Purpose of SIGCHLD

SIGCHLD is mainly used to:

Action Meaning

Inform parent that child has finished Ignore Parent does nothing

Avoid zombie processes Terminate Never happens by default

Perform parent–child synchronization Custom

Parent can handle it
handler
Collect child exit status using wait() or waitpid()

5. Relationship Between SIGCHLD and Zombie Processes

When a child terminates:

3. When is SIGCHLD Generated?
◦ It becomes a zombie
SIGCHLD is generated when: ◦ Parent must call wait() or waitpid()

Child process terminates If parent does not handle SIGCHLD:

◦ Zombie process remains in the process table
Child process is stopped (Ctrl + Z)

Child process resumes (continued) Handling SIGCHLD properly automatically cleans zombies
7. SIGCLD Semantics in System V UNIX

In old System V UNIX:

Signal name used → SIGCLD
Special behavior:
Multiple child terminations may generate only one SIGCLD
Parent must loop using wait() to collect all children

SIGCLD SIGCHLD
System V
POSIX / Linux name
UNIX name
Older
Modern systems
systems
Same
Same purpose
purpose
kill() and raise() Functions
1. kill() Function

Definition:

The kill() function is used to send a signal to any process whose process ID (PID) is known.

It can:

Kill a process

Stop a process

Resume a process

Send any custom signal

Kill()
raise() Function
Definition:

The raise() function is used to send a signal to the calling process itself.

It is mainly used for:

Testing signal handlers

Generating software interrupts inside the program

raise()
alarm() and pause()
Both alarm() and pause() are used for process control using signals, especially with SIGALRM.

1. alarm() Function

Definition:

The alarm() function is used to schedule a signal (SIGALRM) after a specified number of seconds.

It is mainly used for:

Timeouts

Automatic process wake-up

Time-based programming
Alarm()
Pause()
Definition:

The pause() function suspends the execution of a process until any signal is received.

It does NOT consume CPU while waiting.

Pause()
Alarm() & pause()
SIGNAL SETS IN UNIX
1. What is a Signal Set?

A signal set is a collection (group) of signals used by a process to:

Block signals

Unblock signals

Check pending signals

Modify signal masks

Technically, a signal set is stored using the data type:

SIGNAL SETS
2. Why Are Signal Sets Needed?

Signal sets are used to:

Temporarily block signals

Prevent race conditions
Protect critical sections of code
Handle multiple signals efficiently
Perform reliable signal handling using sigprocmask(), sigpending(), etc.
sigprocmask()
What is sigprocmask()?

sigprocmask() is used to block, unblock, or replace the set of signals (signal mask) for a process.

It controls which signals are allowed or temporarily blocked from being delivered to a process.

Purpose of sigprocmask()

It is used to:

Block signals temporarily

Unblock previously blocked signals
Prevent race conditions
Protect critical sections of code
Control signal delivery safely
sigprocmask()
Program: Blocking and
Unblocking SIGINT
sigpending()
1. What is sigpending()?

sigpending() is used to find out which signals are currently pending for a process.

Pending signals = signals that are generated but not yet delivered because they are blocked.

2. Purpose of sigpending()

It is used to:

Check which signals are waiting for delivery

Debug signal blocking programs
Verify whether blocked signals are pending
Work with sigprocmask() and sigismember()
sigpending()
Program Using sigpending()
sigaction() in UNIX
sigaction() is the most powerful and modern way to define how a process handles signals.

It is used instead of the old signal() function because it provides:

More control
Reliable behavior
Prevents signal loss
Allows setting extra options

1. Purpose of sigaction()

sigaction() is used to:

Set a custom signal handler

Specify whether a signal should be:

◦ Handled by a user function
◦ Ignored Parameter Meaning
◦ Use default action
signum Signal number (e.g., SIGINT, SIGTERM)
Control additional behavior using flags act New action for the signal
Examine the old (previous) action for a signal oldact Stores previous action (optional)
sigaction()
Example
void handler(int sig, siginfo_t *info, void *context) {

printf("Signal %d from process %d\n", sig, info->si_pid);

struct sigaction act;

act.sa_sigaction = handler;

act.sa_flags = SA_SIGINFO;

sigemptyset(&act.sa_mask);

sigaction(SIGINT, &act, NULL);

sigsetjmp()
Normally, a function returns to its caller.
But with non-local jump, a program can:

Jump back to a previously saved execution point

Skip multiple function calls
Recover from errors or signals

2. sigsetjmp()s

Definition:

sigsetjmp() saves the current execution context and

optionally the signal mask.

siglongjmp()
Definition:

siglongjmp() restores the saved execution context and signal mask, and jumps back to sigsetjmp().
Work flow
Program Using sigsetjmp() &
siglongjmp()
sigsuspend()
1. What is sigsuspend()?

sigsuspend() is used to temporarily replace the current signal mask and suspend the process until a signal is received.

In simple words:

sigsuspend() puts the process to sleep and waits safely for a specific signal.

2. Why sigsuspend() Is Needed

sigsuspend() is used to:

Wait for a signal safely

Avoid race conditions
Work with signal blocking (sigprocmask)
Perform proper signal synchronization
Replace unsafe use of pause()
sigsuspend()
Example Program Using
sigsuspend()
abort()
1. What is abort()?

abort() is a library function used to immediately terminate a process

abnormally.

It forces the process to stop and generates the SIGABRT signal.

In simple words:

abort() is used to crash the program intentionally.

2. Purpose of abort()

abort() is mainly used to:

Stop a program when a serious runtime error occurs

Detect logical/programming errors
Debug programs
Terminate when recovery is not possible
Abort()
5. What Happens When abort() is Called?

When abort() is executed:

The process gets SIGABRT

If SIGABRT is not caught or ignored:

◦ Process is terminated immediately

◦ A core dump may be generated

Normal cleanup does NOT happen:

◦ return statements are skipped

◦ exit() handlers may not run

◦ Open files may not close properly

This makes abort() a violent termination method

sleep() Function
Definition

sleep() is used to suspend the execution of a process for a specified number of seconds.
nanosleep() Function
Definition

nanosleep() suspends a process with nanosecond precision.

It is a higher resolution and more accurate version of sleep().

nanosleep()
clock_nanosleep() Function
clock_nanosleep() is an advanced high-precision sleep function that allows sleeping based on a specific system clock.
clock_nanosleep()
Key Differences

Feature sleep() nanosleep() clock_nanosleep()

Seconds + Seconds +
Time unit Seconds
Nanoseconds Nanoseconds
Accuracy Low High Very High
Precise resume Precise resume
Signal handling Interrupted
possible possible
Uses clock No No Yes
Real-time use No Yes Best
sigqueue()
1. What is sigqueue()?

sigqueue() is a function used to send a signal to another process along with user-defined data.

Unlike kill(), which sends only a signal,

sigqueue() sends both a signal + an integer or pointer value.

It is mainly used with real-time signals.

2. Purpose of sigqueue()

sigqueue() is used to:

Send signals with additional information

Perform advanced inter-process communication (IPC)
Work with real-time queued signals
Avoid signal loss (signals are queued, not overwritten)
sigqueue()
sigqueue()