Question

If a parent process terminates without invoking wait(), the process is a:

• A. Zombie
• B. Orphan
• C. Parent
• D. Client

Hint:

An orphan process is a child process whose parent has terminated. It is automatically adopted by the init process to prevent resource leaks.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding Process Hierarchy
- In Unix/Linux-based systems, a process is typically created using fork(), which spawns a child process.
- The parent process is responsible for waiting for the child’s termination using wait().
Step 2: Orphan Process
- If the parent process terminates before the child, the child process becomes an orphan.
- Orphan processes are adopted by the init process (PID 1) to ensure proper cleanup.
Step 3: Evaluating the Options
- (A) Incorrect: A zombie process is one that has terminated but its parent has not collected its exit status.
- (B) Correct: A process whose parent terminates without waiting becomes an orphan.
- (C) Incorrect: A parent process is simply the creator of child processes.
- (D) Incorrect: The term client is unrelated to process hierarchy in this context.