Subject: Re: killing the unkillable
To: None <tech-kern@netbsd.org>
From: Alan Barrett <apb@cequrux.com>
List: tech-kern
Date: 11/09/2002 09:59:13
On Fri, 08 Nov 2002, Julio Merino wrote:
> "Jeremy C. Reed" <reed@reedmedia.net> wrote:
> > Can someone point me to the code or documentation about why some
> > processes won't be killed?
> I do not know, but this is *very* *annoying*.

It sometimes helps to call revoke(2) on a pathname that refers to the
device that is wedged.

Perhaps we need a new syscall to *really* kill a process, even if it's
in a state where normal signal delivery does not happen.  Late 1980's
Apollo Domain-OS had a "kill -lbolt" command that sent a "lightning
bolt" that worked even where "kill -9" did not work.

--apb (Alan Barrett)