Child processes enable parallel execution and system command integration. Here's how to use them effectively.
spawn vs exec vs fork
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Promisified Execution
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Streaming Data
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IPC Communication (fork)
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Detached Processes
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Shell Commands
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Timeout and Kill
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Worker Pool Pattern
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Stdio Configuration
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Error Handling
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Cross-Platform Commands
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Best Practices
Process Management:
✓ Always handle 'error' events
✓ Clean up child processes on exit
✓ Set appropriate timeouts
✓ Handle both stdout and stderr
Performance:
✓ Use spawn for streaming data
✓ Use fork for CPU-intensive tasks
✓ Implement worker pools for parallelism
✓ Reuse processes when possible
Security:
✓ Avoid shell: true with user input
✓ Sanitize command arguments
✓ Use execFile over exec when possible
✓ Limit resource usage
Error Handling:
✓ Check exit codes
✓ Handle signals properly
✓ Implement graceful shutdown
✓ Log stderr output
Conclusion
Child processes enable parallel execution and system integration. Use spawn for streaming, exec for simple commands, fork for Node.js workers, and implement proper error handling. Worker pools maximize CPU utilization for heavy computations.