Process Identifier

In computing, the process identifier (normally referred to as the process ID or just PID) is a number used by most operating system kernels, —such as that of UNIX, Mac OS X or Microsoft Windows— to temporarily uniquely identify a process. This number may be used as a parameter in various function calls allowing processes to be manipulated, such as adjusting the process's priority or killing it altogether.

Read more about Process Identifier:  Unix-like, Microsoft Windows, Pidfile

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