nice(1)                          DG/UX R4.11                         nice(1)


NAME
       nice - run a command at a higher or lower priority

SYNOPSIS
       nice [ -increment ] command [ arguments ]

DESCRIPTION
       Nice executes command with a lower or higher CPU scheduling priority.
       Scheduling priority numbers are such that the higher the number, the
       lower the priority.  A process at a lower priority will probably
       execute more slowly than a process with a higher priority.  The
       highest priority level is -20.  The lowest is 19.

       By default, nice executes command at a lower priority (which is your
       shell's priority plus 10).

       If you provide an increment argument, the system executes your
       command at a priority that much higher or lower than your current
       priority.  For example, with an argument of -10, nice will execute
       your command at your current priority plus 10.  With an argument of
       --10, nice will execute your command at your current priority minus
       10.  If your shell's normal priority is 0 and you invoke nice with an
       argument of -10, nice executes your command at a priority of 10.

       Only a user with appropriate privilege can raise a process's priority
       by passing nice a negative number.  If a user without appropriate
       privilege invokes nice with a negative number, nice assumes -0 as the
       argument.  For systems supporting the DG/UX Capability Option,
       appropriate privilege is defined as having one or more specific
       capabilities enabled in the effective capability set of the user.
       See capdefaults(5) for the default capabilities for this command.

       On systems without the DG/UX Capability Option, appropriate privilege
       means that your process has an effective UID of root.  See the
       appropriateprivilege(5) man page for more information.

       If you attempt to execute a command at a priority greater than 19,
       nice executes it at 19.  If you attempt to execute a command at a
       priority less than -20, nice executes it at -20.  You cannot
       interrupt a process running at a very high priority (such as -20).
       To interrupt such a process, use the renice(1) command first to lower
       the process's priority.

       System runtime conditions determine exactly how priority affects
       execution speed.  To change the priority of a process that is already
       running, use the renice(1) command.

       Note that this command is not the same as the built-in version of
       nice that you get if you use the csh.  See csh(1).  If you use the
       csh but prefer to use this version of nice, invoke this command with
       its full pathname, /usr/bin/nice.

EXAMPLES
       $ nice -19 who

       nice will execute the who command at a lower CPU priority (that is,
       at a priority 19 points lower than your shell's current priority).

       $ nice --10 who

       If you have appropriate privilege, nice will execute the who command
       at a higher (10 points higher) CPU priority.  If you do not have
       appropriate privilege, nice executes the command at your current
       priority.

       $ nice who

       nice will execute who at a priority that is 10 points lower than your
       shell's priority.

DIAGNOSTICS
       Nice returns the exit status of the subject command.

SEE ALSO
       csh(1), nohup(1), renice(1), sh(1), getpriority(2), nice(2),
       setpriority(2), appropriateprivilege(5).
       capdefaults(5).


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