Each process is represented by a unique identifier, which is called as the process id (PID), at a given time, PID is 17 guaranteed to be unique. The kernel allocates process ids to processes in a strictly linear fashion. For e.g if pid 17 is the highest number currently allocated, the next process would be allocated the PID 18, even though the process with PID 17 is no longer running. The kernel doesn't reuse process id values until the value in /proc/sys/kernel/pid_max is allocated.
Each process is represented by a unique identifier, the process ID(frequently shortened to pid). The pid is guaranteed to be unique at any single point in time.
Kernel allocates process IDs to processes in a strictly linear fashion , if pid 17 is the highest number currently allocated , pid 18 will be allocated next even if the process last assigned pid 17 is no longer running when the new process starts. The kernel does not reuse process ID values until it wraps around from the top - that is, earlier values will not be used until the value in /proc/sys/kernel/pid_max is allocated.
