Difference between revisions of "Bg, fg and jobs"

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This program runs in the foreground, the console is reserved for its in- and output. To run the same program in the background, start it with the ampersand ("&") after the program name:
 
This program runs in the foreground, the console is reserved for its in- and output. To run the same program in the background, start it with the ampersand ("&") after the program name:
 
  xclock &
 
  xclock &
 +
 +
[[File:Snapshot-bg-xclock.png]]

Revision as of 09:59, 16 December 2011

bg, fg and jobs are process related commands that belong together. bg stands for background and fg stands for foreground.

Concept

When you start a program under Linux, by default the command runs in the foreground. This means the console is reserved for in- and output to and from this program. You do not get a prompt while the program is running. Here is an example for this showing the program xclock being called by the command

xclock

Snapshot-fg-xclock.png

This program runs in the foreground, the console is reserved for its in- and output. To run the same program in the background, start it with the ampersand ("&") after the program name:

xclock &

Snapshot-bg-xclock.png