29. Daemons
A daemon is a background process that performs a specific function or system task. In keeping with the UNIX and Linux philosophy of modularity, daemons are programs rather than parts of the kernel. Many daemons start at boot time and continue to run as long as the system is up. Other daemons are started when needed and run only as long as they are useful.
“Daemon” was first used as a computer term by Mick Bailey, a British gentleman who was working on the CTSS programming staff at MIT during the early 1960s.[1] Mick quoted the Oxford English Dictionary in support of both the meaning and the spelling of the word. The words ...
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