# Kill process using WIN32\_PROCESS **URL:** \ **Category:** Ruby\ **Created:** [March 12, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/kill-process-using-win32-process/131628 "2008-03-12T00:52:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Junkone](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@Junkone](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Junkone)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/kill-process-using-win32-process/131628/1 "2008-03-12T00:52:40Z")
I was reviewing the docs for Module Process in WIN32\_PROCESS and found the following docs for Kill. What does signal 4-8 do and how does it make it nicer kill. why is it 4-8 and what is the degree of niceness as it goes along. kill(signal, \*pids) Sends the given signal to an array of process id’s. The signal may be any value from 0 to 9, or the special strings ‘SIGINT’ (or ‘INT’), ‘SIGBRK’ (or ‘BRK’) and ‘SIGKILL’ (or ‘KILL’). An array of successfully killed pids is returned. Signal 0 merely tests if the process is running without killing it. Signal 2 sends a CTRL\_C\_EVENT to the process. Signal 3 sends a CTRL\_BRK\_EVENT to the process. Signal 9 kills the process in a harsh manner. Signals 1 and 4-8 kill the process in a nice manner. SIGINT/INT corresponds to signal 2 SIGBRK/BRK corresponds to signal 3 SIGKILL/KILL corresponds to signal 9 Signals 2 and 3 only affect console processes, and then only if the process was created with the CREATE\_NEW\_PROCESS\_GROUP flag. ---
**Author:** ![Junkone](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@Junkone](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Junkone)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2008, 2:48am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/kill-process-using-win32-process/131628/2 "2008-03-12T02:48:46Z")
On Mar 11, 5:28 pm, Junkone [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > I was reviewing the docs for Module Process in WIN32\_PROCESS and > found the following docs for Kill. What does signal 4-8 do and how > does it make it nicer kill. why is it 4-8 and what is the degree of > niceness as it goes along. Actually, it’s 1 and 4-8. Signals 2 and 3 were chosen for SIGINT and SIGBRK, respectively, because that’s what their Unix counterparts are (typically). In practice these will rarely be used. They’re nicer because they use a different technique for killing a process than the 9 signal does. The 9 signal uses TerminateProcess() behind the scenes, which is a brute force way to kill a process that bypasses any exit handlers the process may have setup. Signals 1 and 4-8 use a CreateRemoteThread() + ExitProcess() technique, which _does_ allow the process to run any exit handlers first. Regards, Dan ---
**Author:** ![Junkone](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@Junkone](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Junkone)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 2:17pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/kill-process-using-win32-process/131628/3 "2008-03-13T14:17:38Z")
On Mar 11, 9:38 pm, Daniel B. [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > They’re nicer because they use a different technique for killing a > process than the 9 signal does. The 9 signal uses TerminateProcess() > behind the scenes, which is a brute force way to kill a process that > bypasses any exit handlers the process may have setup. Signals 1 and > 4-8 use a CreateRemoteThread() + ExitProcess() technique, which _does_ > allow the process to run any exit handlers first. > > Regards, > > Dan is signal 4, 5, 6, 7,8 provide same effect or is 8 better than 7 in descending order ---
**Author:** ![Junkone](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/j/e274bd/32.png) [@Junkone](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/Junkone)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/kill-process-using-win32-process/131628/4 "2008-03-13T16:51:32Z")
On Mar 13, 7:15 am, Junkone [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote: > > > does it make it nicer kill. why is it 4-8 and what is the degree of > > > 4-8 use a CreateRemoteThread() + ExitProcess() technique, which _does_ > > > allow the process to run any exit handlers first. > > > Regards, > > > Dan > > is signal 4, 5, 6, 7,8 provide same effect or is 8 better than 7 in > descending order- Hide quoted text - 1 and 4-8 are all the same. Regards, Dan