NAME
kproc, pexit, postnote – kernel process creation, termination and interrupt

SYNOPSIS
void    kproc(char *name, void (*func)(void*), void *arg)

void    pexit(char *note, int freemem)

void    postnote(Proc *p, int dolock, char *n, int flag)

DESCRIPTION
Kproc creates a new kernel process to run the function func, which is invoked as (*func)(arg). The string name is copied into the text field of the Proc structure of the new process; this value is the name of the kproc in the output of ps(1). The process is made runnable; it will run when selected by the scheduler sched(9). The process is created with base and current priorities set to PriKproc. It shares the kernel process group and thus name space.

A kernel process terminates only when it calls pexit, thereby terminating itself. There is no mechanism for one process to force the termination of another, although it can send a software interrupt using postnote. Note is a null string on normal termination, or the cause of If freemem is non–zero, any memory allocated by the process is discarded; it should normally be non–zero for any process created by kproc. Use the following to terminate a kernel process normally:
pexit("", 1);

to terminate a kernel process normally.

Postnote sends a software interrupt to process p, causing it, if necessary, to wake from sleep(9) or break out of a rendezvous(2), with an error(9) `interrupted'. Up to NNOTE notes can be pending at once (currently 5); if more than that arrive, the process is forced out of sleep and rendezvous, but the message itself is discarded. Postnote returns non–zero iff the note has been delivered successfully. If dolock is non–zero, postnote synchronises delivery of the note with the debugger and other operations of proc(3). Flag is zero, or one of the following
NDebug
Print the note message on the user's standard error. Furthermore, suspend the process in a Broken state, preserving its memory, for later debugging.
NExit
Deliver the note quietly.
NUser
The note comes from another process, not the system.

The kernel uses postnote to signal processes that commit grave faults, and to implement the note and kill functions of proc(3). A device driver should use postnote only to tell a service process, previously started by the driver using kproc , that it should stop; the note will cause that process to raise an error(9). For example, a process started to read packets from a network device could be stopped as follows when the interface is unbound:
postnote(readp, 1, "unbind", 0);

where readp points to the appropriate Proc. The text of the message is typically irrelevant.

SOURCE
/sys/src/9/port/proc.c
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