difference of pid_t and int in C

Question

what's the difference between pid_t datatype and int when getting process id? I saw something like:

pid_t getpid(void);

but whats the difference between it and

int getpid(void);

score 8 · Answer 1 · answered Nov 12 '18 at 05:45

8

Quoting from the libc manual:

The pid_t data type is a signed integer type which is capable of representing a process ID. In the GNU C Library, this is an int.

answered Nov 12 '18 at 05:45

babon

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score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Nov 12 '18 at 05:45

4

data types that ends with "_t", are usually a defined type variable in C and C++ as an unwritten law. according to that law, "pid_t" is a data type which is defined somewhere else but "int" a standard type; so to know the differences you need to know how "pid_t" is defined.

answered Nov 12 '18 at 05:45

Majid Roustaei

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defined types are usually used to make the code more clear. using them also makes it more easier to change the code. – Majid Roustaei Nov 12 '18 at 05:51

difference of pid_t and int in C

2 Answers2