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
Famous quotes containing the word process:
“A process in the weather of the world
Turns ghost to ghost; each mothered child
Sits in their double shade.
A process blows the moon into the sun,
Pulls down the shabby curtains of the skin;
And the heart gives up its dead.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)