Xref: utzoo comp.mail.misc:2321 comp.unix.xenix:7366 comp.unix.wizards:17902
Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!watmath!iuvax!purdue!bu-cs!encore!multimax.UUCP
From: jdarcy@multimax.UUCP (Jeff d'Arcy,OS Avenue,2627,)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.misc,comp.unix.xenix,comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: Checking for new mail (and killing bkgnd process on logout?)
Message-ID: <9834@multimax.Encore.COM>
Date: 30 Aug 89 15:51:55 GMT
References: <1989Aug30.053137.2047@ctr.columbia.edu>
Followup-To: comp.mail.misc
Lines: 16

seth@ctr.columbia.edu (Seth Robertson):
> Sure,  Modify checkmail so that does the following:
> 
> 	if (kill(ppid,0))
> 	  exit(1);
> 
> So every so often, it checks to see if its parent is around.  If
> it isn't, it performs honorable suicide.

This is an approach I'd tried earlier (I used SIGCHLD, actually) and
it worked OK, but I wasn't comfortable with the possibility that the
parent might try to do something with the signal instead of dropping
it.  That's when I thought of comparing initial vs. current PPIDs.

Jeff d'Arcy		jdarcy@encore.com		(508) 460-0500 x2627
  I am solely responsible for my own opinions, and not at all for others'