NAME

wait − wait for a process to finish

SYNOPSIS

wait [ n ]

DESCRIPTION

Wait for your background process whose process id is n and report its termination status.  If n is omitted, all your shell’s currently active background processes are waited for and the return code will be zero. 

The shell itself executes wait, without creating a new process. 

SEE ALSO

sh(1)

NOTES

If you get the error message cannot fork, too many processes, try using the wait command to clean up your background processes.  If this doesn’t help, the system process table is probably full or you have too many active foreground processes.  (There is a limit to the number of process ids associated with your login, and to the number the system can keep track of.) 

Not all the processes of a 3- or more-stage pipeline are children of the shell, and thus cannot be waited for. 

If n is not an active process id, all your shell’s currently active background processes are waited for and the return code will be zero. 

Sun Microsystems  —  Last change: 5 Jul 1990