GETPID(3POSIX)

📦 version 2017a, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 GETPID(3POSIX) — the POSIX Programmer's Manual, but make it a group chat 💖

okay bestie, so this page lives in the POSIX Programmer's Manual, and we're about to get so cozy with it. it's giving "short but iconic", lowkey a little main-character moment for your process. 🌸

🌈 PROLOG

okay so first things first, a lil heads up, and it's important, so listen up 🫶

this manual page is part of the POSIX Programmer's Manual. the Linux implementation of this interface may differ — so like, if you're on Linux, go consult the corresponding Linux manual page for the deets on Linux behavior. or honestly, the interface might just not be implemented on Linux at all. no cap. 💀

✨ NAME ✨

getpid — get the process ID 👑

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

okay here's the spell you gotta cast:

#include <unistd.h>

pid_t getpid(void);

that's it. that's the whole vibe. 💅

🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

so the getpid() function shall return the process ID of the calling process. literally just "hey, what's my number?" and it tells you. obsessed. 💖

⭐ RETURN VALUE ⭐

the getpid() function shall always be successful and no return value is reserved to indicate an error. periodt. it cannot fail. it has never failed. it does not know how to fail. it's simply built different. 👑

💀 ERRORS 💀

No errors are defined.

and like, the following sections are informative. so they're the fun bonus lore, not the mandatory homework. iykyk 📚✨

🌸 EXAMPLES 🌸

None.

(she's mysterious. she's minimal. she doesn't need examples.) 🧚

💜 APPLICATION USAGE 💜

None.

🔥 RATIONALE 🔥

None.

🦋 FUTURE DIRECTIONS 🦋

None.

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go read these next bestie, they're all in the same friend group:

  • exec
  • fork()
  • getpgrp()
  • getppid()
  • kill()
  • mkdtemp()
  • setpgid()
  • setsid()

also, from the Base Definitions volume of POSIX.1‐2017: <sys_types.h> and <unistd.h>. ✨

okay this part is the legal bit and we do NOT skip it, because facts are facts 💅

Portions of this text are reprinted and reproduced in electronic form from IEEE Std 1003.1-2017, Standard for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 7, 2018 Edition, Copyright (C) 2018 by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. in the event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard, the original IEEE and The Open Group Standard is the referee document. the original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .

any typographical or formatting errors that appear in this page are most likely to have been introduced during the conversion of the source files to man page format. to report such errors, see https://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/reporting_bugs.html .

and that's the whole page bestie!! brought to you by IEEE/The Open Group, dating all the way back to 2017 — a vintage queen, truly timeless, and she still ate. 💖✨🎀🦋🌸💅🫶👑

📦 where this page comes from