NAME

nice, nohup − execute a command at a lower priority

SYNTAX

nice [−number] command [arguments]

nohup command [arguments]

DESCRIPTION

The nice command executes command with low scheduling priority (Bourne Shell only).  If the number argument is present, the priority is incremented (higher numbers mean lower priorities) by that amount up to a limit of 20.  The default number is 10. 

The super-user may run commands with priority higher than normal by using a negative priority, for example, ‘−−10’. 

The nohup command executes command immune to hangup and terminate signals from the controlling terminal.  The priority is incremented by 5.  The nohup command should be invoked from the shell with an ampersand (&) in order to prevent it from responding to interrupts by or stealing the input from the next person who logs in on the same terminal. The syntax of nice is also different.

OPTIONS

−numberIncrements the priority by a specified number up to a limit of 20.  The default is 10. 

RESTRICTIONS

The nice and nohup commands are particular to sh(.). If you use csh(,), then commands executed with an ampersand (&) are automatically immune to hangup signals while in the background. There is a built-in command nohup which provides immunity from terminate, but it does not redirect output to nohup.out.

The nice command is built into csh() with a slightly different syntax than described here.  The form “nice +10” nices to positive nice, and “nice −10” can be used by the superuser to give a process more of the processor.

DIAGNOSTICS

The nice command returns the exit status of the subject command.

FILES

nohup.outstandard output and standard error file under nohup

SEE ALSO

csh(1), getpriority(2), renice(8)

Commands