golang/go

os: document the Process.Pid field

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#36,726 opened on Jan 24, 2020

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Description

As discussed in https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/golang-nuts/ievQGPz1R7k, https://golang.org/cl/4029053 dropped the documentation for the Pid field.

I also propose to extend the documentation with something like:

The value of Pid after the process has been waited/released is not specified.

The reason is that on UNIX systems, Release set Pid to -1, but not on Windows. This means that a program can not check if Pid == -1 to determine if the process has been released.

The alternative is to change the Windows implementation.

Contributor guide

Research direction
Review the current documentation of Process.Pid in the os package, examine the Windows implementation to verify if Pid is set to 1 after Release, and then propose a documentation update clarifying that the value of Pid after the process has been waited/released is not specified.
Tech stack
go
Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
GoGit
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
70