Linux Processes 101

What is Linux Processes 101?

Understanding processes is essential to understanding operating systems and containers. In Linux, everything running on the system is represented by task structures in the kernel.

This skill path guides you through the core concepts of process management:

1. From a Program to a Process: Learn how the Linux kernel loads an ELF binary into memory, creates virtual address spaces and file descriptor tables, and schedules execution. Practice writing process creation code with fork() and execve().
2. Threads & Concurrency: Understand how Linux implements threads as tasks sharing resources, compare concurrency vs. parallelism, and refactor blocking programs using POSIX threads (pthreads).
3. Signals & Process Lifecycle: Master asynchronous inter-process communication via signals, handle graceful shutdowns, and understand why SIGKILL cannot be caught or ignored.

Learn how the Linux kernel loads an ELF binary into memory, sets up virtual memory spaces, and schedules execution. Practice creating processes from scratch using fork() and execve() system calls.

Investigate how the Linux kernel treats threads as lightweight tasks sharing address spaces. Refactor sequential, blocking code into high-throughput concurrent programs using POSIX Threads (pthreads).

Understand Unix/Linux signals as asynchronous notifications sent across processes or directly from the kernel. Learn default signal actions, register custom handlers, implement graceful shutdown patterns in Go, and understand why SIGKILL cannot be trapped.