The search_proc function can be very useful in other ways. Not only can you use it if you want to know if a process is currently running, you can flip it around and use it to determine when a process is not running by looping it.

One very good use of it in this method would be to detect whethor or not your mis-behaved setup program which spawned off it's own set of processes is finished or not (You probably all know what I'm talking about) It's annoying when you want to maintain sequential control of the events and you shell a setup command which instantly reports back that it is completed even when you know it hasn't.

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K Torkelson
Sys Admin Analyst
ktorkelson@providentfunding.com