Is there a version of the wait() system call that sets a timeout?

Question

Is there any way to use the wait() system call with a timeout, besides using a busy-waiting or busy-sleeping loop?

I\'ve got a parent process that

Answer 1

There's not a wait call that takes a timeout.

What you can do instead is install a signal handler that sets a flag for SIGCHLD, and use select() to implement a timeout. select() will be interrupted by a signal.

static volatile int punt;
static void sig_handler(int sig)
{
    punt = 1;
}

...

struct timeval timeout = {10,0};
int rc;

signal(SIGCHLD, sig_handler);

fork/exec stuff
//select will get interrupted by a signal

rc = select(0, NULL,NULL,NULL, &timeout ); 
if (rc == 0) {
// timed out
} else if (punt) {
    //child terminated
}

More logic is needed if you have other signal you need to handle as well though