python fork,Python：何时使用pty.fork（）和os.fork（）

I'm uncertain whether to use pty.fork() or os.fork() when spawning external background processes from my app. (Such as chess engines)

I want the spawned processes to die if the parent is killed, as with spawning apps in a terminal.

What are the ups and downs between the two forks?

解决方案

The child process created with os.fork() inherits stdin/stdout/stderr from parent process, while the child created with pty.fork() is connected to new pseudo terminal. You need the later when you write a program like xterm: pty.fork() in parent process returns a descriptor to control terminal of child process, so you can visually represent data from it and translate user actions into terminal input sequences.

Update:

From pty(7) man page:

A process that expects to be connected

to a terminal, can open the slave end

of a pseudo-terminal and then be

driven by a program that has

opened the master end. Anything that

is written on the master end is

provided to the process on the slave

end as though it was input typed on

a terminal. For example, writing the

interrupt character (usually

control-C) to the master device

would cause an interrupt signal

(SIGINT) to be generated for the

foreground process group that is

connected to the slave. Conversely,

anything that is written to the

slave end of the pseudo-terminal can

be read by the process that is

connected to the master end.