kill
Type
command
Summary
Signals or quits another process or application on the same system.
Syntax
kill [{<signalNumber> | <signalName>}] process <processName>
Description
Use the kill command to send a signal to a process (on Unix|Unix systems), or to terminate a process with extreme prejudice.
On Mac OS systems, the kill command sends a "Quit Application" Apple event to the specified application.
On Unix systems, the kill command sends the specified signal to the process. If no signal is specified, the kill command sends SIGTERM. Check the Unix documentation for information about available signals. The file /usr/include/sys/signal.h lists signals and their corresponding signal numbers.
If possible, use the close process command instead of the kill command to terminate a process. The kill command causes an immediate exit, and may prevent the process from removing temporary files or doing other cleanup tasks.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
signalNumber | The number of the Unix signal to send to the process.
| |
signalName | The name of a Unix signal, minus the leading "SIG". (For example, to send SIGHUP to a process, use HUP as the signalName.)
| |
processName | The name of a currently executing process. |
Examples
kill process "rnews"
kill 9 process myProcess -- terminate with extreme prejudice
kill QUIT process it
Related
control structure: exit
function: openProcessIDs, sysError, files, processID, openProcesses
glossary: Unix, Apple Event, command, process
keyword: file
message: signal
command: open process, quit, close process, launch
Compatibility and Support
Introduced
LiveCode 1.0
OS
mac
windows
linux
Platforms
desktop
server