fork()

Given the direction the AmigaHW is going (more specifically the support of dual core etc) does this mean we could end up having a type of fork() support? e.g. the child task could be routed and ran through the 2nd cpu?

Has it been done for windows or perhaps it just doesn't work this way.

Just an end of the working day speculation

@Slayer

I don't see how a 2nd CPU would help with implementing fork() function. Better idea IMO would be to eventually use the 2nd CPU to implement SMP in AmigaOS (Forbid() and Disable() would have to stop the other CPU and their use would be discouraged in new programs except where they are really necessary) and instead for now implement vfork(), which is kind of a cut down version of forkthat ixemul.library and arosc.library has.

@salass00

Yes I was going to mention the implementation in ixemul. Made it easy to port some MUD codebases back in the day.

Obviously my understanding of what fork() actually does is limited. I assume it's a child task executed from a parent and kind of detached but not? That's why I thought it could be seperated to the other cpu... a waste for sure (unless the child task is a big task in its own right) but just an idea.

@Slayer

fork() actually creates a replica of the original process. Including stuff like file descriptors. IIRC replicating fork() without some redecoration of the way AOS handles processes and resources isn't possible.

You can read more about it here:

http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/000095399/functions/fork.html

@orgin

ah, that's it, thanks for the explanation and documentation!