Linux jobs Command with Practical Examples

Introduction

In this lab, we will explore the Linux jobs command, which is used to manage background processes. We will start by understanding the basic usage of the jobs command, including how to view, suspend, resume, and terminate background processes. Then, we will dive deeper into managing background processes with the jobs command, covering practical examples and use cases. This lab aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the jobs command and its applications in process management within the Linux operating system.

Linux Commands Cheat Sheet

Skills Graph

Understand the jobs Command

In this step, we will explore the jobs command in Linux, which is used to manage background processes. The jobs command allows you to view, suspend, resume, and terminate background processes.

First, let's start a background process using the sleep command:

sleep 60 &

Here, we start the sleep command in the background by adding the & symbol at the end of the command.

Now, let's use the jobs command to view the background processes:

jobs

Example output:

[1]+  Running                 sleep 60 &

The output shows that we have one background process with job ID [1] that is currently running.

We can also use the jobs command to suspend a background process:

jobs -s

This will show any stopped background processes.

To suspend the sleep process, we can use the kill command with the -STOP option:

kill -STOP %1

The %1 refers to the job ID of the background process.

To resume the suspended process, we can use the kill command with the -CONT option:

kill -CONT %1

This will resume the suspended sleep process.

Finally, to terminate a background process, we can use the kill command with the -TERM option:

kill -TERM %1

This will terminate the sleep process.

Manage Background Processes with jobs

In this step, we will learn how to manage background processes using the jobs command.

First, let's start a few background processes:

sleep 60 &
sleep 120 &

Now, let's use the jobs command to view the background processes:

jobs

Example output:

[1] Running                 sleep 60 &
[2] Running                 sleep 120 &

The output shows that we have two background processes with job IDs [1] and [2].

We can also use the jobs command to suspend a specific background process:

jobs -s

This will show any stopped background processes.

To suspend the first background process (job ID [1]), we can use the kill command with the -STOP option:

kill -STOP %1

To resume the suspended process, we can use the kill command with the -CONT option:

kill -CONT %1

This will resume the suspended sleep process.

Finally, to terminate a specific background process, we can use the kill command with the -TERM option:

kill -TERM %2

This will terminate the second sleep process.

Practical Examples of Using jobs Command

In this final step, we will explore some practical examples of using the jobs command.

1. Monitoring Background Processes

   Let's start a few background processes and use the jobs command to monitor them:

   sleep 60 &
   sleep 120 &
   sleep 180 &
   jobs

   Example output:

   [1] Running                 sleep 60 &
   [2] Running                 sleep 120 &
   [3] Running                 sleep 180 &

2. Suspending and Resuming Processes

   Suspend the second background process:

   kill -STOP %2
   jobs

   Example output:

   [1] Running                 sleep 60 &
   [2]+ Stopped                sleep 120
   [3] Running                 sleep 180 &

   Resume the suspended process:

   kill -CONT %2
   jobs

   Example output:

   [1] Running                 sleep 60 &
   [2]- Running                sleep 120 &
   [3] Running                 sleep 180 &

3. Terminating Processes

   Terminate the third background process:

   kill -TERM %3
   jobs

   Example output:

   [1] Running                 sleep 60 &
   [2]- Running                sleep 120 &

In these examples, we've demonstrated how to use the jobs command to monitor, suspend, resume, and terminate background processes. This knowledge will be useful when managing long-running tasks and processes in your Linux environment.

Summary

In this lab, we learned how to use the jobs command in Linux to manage background processes. We started by understanding the basic functionality of the jobs command, including how to view, suspend, resume, and terminate background processes. We then explored practical examples of using the jobs command, such as starting background processes, suspending and resuming them, and terminating them. Overall, the jobs command provides a powerful way to control and monitor background processes in a Linux environment.

Linux Commands Cheat Sheet