Understanding Signals in Unix Systems: A Deep Dive

Discover how processes in Unix communicate and collaborate to power your applications and operating system.

In Unix-like operating systems, signals play a crucial role in inter-process communication and process management. They provide a mechanism for asynchronous communication between processes and the operating system itself.

In this blog post, we’ll explore signals in-depth, understanding their purpose, implementation, and practical applications.

What are Signals?

Signals are software interrupts sent to a program to indicate that an important event has occurred. These events can originate from the user, from the operating system, or even from other programs.

Signals are a fundamental concept in Unix-like systems and are used for various purposes, including:

1. Process termination
2. Process suspension and resumption
3. Error handling (e.g., segmentation faults)
4. Timer expiration
5. I/O availability

Common Signals and Their Uses

Let’s start by discussing some of the most commonly used signals:

1. SIGINT (Signal Interrupt): Sent when the user presses Ctrl+C in the terminal.
2. SIGTERM (Signal Terminate): A polite…