[Tutor] Python Daemons

[Ben Finney]

Steven D'Aprano <steve at pearwood.info> writes:

> On Tue, Aug 01, 2017 at 09:03:30PM -0400, dbosah wrote:

(I am not seeing your replies in this forum, dbosah. Please address your
replies to the mailing list – not to an individual – if you want the
discussion to continue.)

> > And I'm still confused by the definition of a Daemon.

The term is intended to distinguish a daemon from a typical process.

What understanding do you already have of a typical process on the
operating system? Does the term “process” mean anything? How about
“terminal”?

If you don't have a solid understanding of that, the definition is
unlikely to help because it's making distinctions below the level you're
used to thinking about.

Did the Wikipedia article help?

> In summary, and Ben will correct me if I'm wrong, a daemon is a
> computer program that runs as a background task.

That's not wrong, but “background task” is vague. I don't know what to
assume about dbosah's understanding of processes to know how to help.

I'd say: what characterises a daemon process is that it has no
controlling terminal (it is “detached” from the terminal that initiated
it).

-- 
 \      “As soon as we abandon our own reason, and are content to rely |
  `\       upon authority, there is no end to our troubles.” —Bertrand |
_o__)                                Russell, _Unpopular Essays_, 1950 |
Ben Finney