Question

I am writing a shell script in which i need to call a binary three times and i need to transfer the call to main program once all these three binaries have completed. I think I need to use fork and wait in my shell script. I am not sure how to implement fork, wait and exec in shell script. I would like to know some good tutorial where I can read these in good detail.

Thanks you so much for help in advance.

Answer 1

If you are using bash (or ksh, or others) as your shell, then this is how you “fork” and wait:

command_one&
command_two -options&
command_three lots of args&

wait

Using an & after a command makes it execute in the background; elsewise the shell will wait after each command. wait with no args waits for all jobs, i.e. children.
$ help wait jobs and the man page for bash can give you more insight into job management.