Job control (Unix)

This article is about job control on a Unix-based system. For the general computing term, see job control.

In a Unix or Unix-like operating system, job control refers to controlling a process group as a job via a shell. Control features include suspend, resume, and terminate, and more advanced features can be performed by sending a signal to a job. Job control allows a user to manage processing in the Unix-based multiprocessing environment, and is distinct from general computing job control.

Job control was first implemented in the C shell by Jim Kulp, then at IIASA in Austria, making use of features of the 4.1BSD kernel. The KornShell, developed at Bell Labs, adopted it and it was later incorporated into the SVR4 version of the Bourne shell, and exists in most modern Unix shells.