terminal - nice version of shutdown -h?

MuGeN · 21 Jan 2010 at 10:25

does anyone know of a "nicer" terminal command than shutdown -h?

if i need to switch off a computer, usually a mac, remotely, i use sudo shutdown -h now...

however, this really does just switch off the computer there and then as opposed to nicely shutting off individual programs first like a normal local shutdown...

is there a different command for this? or maybe a modifier for the shutdown command? (although i can't see one in the man shutdown page)

any ideas?

GeForce · 21 Jan 2010 at 13:31

I'm pretty sure

Code:

shutdown -h now

will power off the system in a safe and clean way - it's not the same as just pulling the plug.

From the man page:

SIGTERM TO SIGKILL INTERVAL
Upon shutdown, all running processes are sent a SIGTERM followed by a SIGKILL. The SIGKILL will follow the SIGTERM by an intentionally indeterminate period of time. Programs are expected to take only enough time to flush all dirty data and exit.

Vonhelmet · 21 Jan 2010 at 13:41

Shutdown -h now doesn't kill -9 things, which is the ugly way of shutting everything down. It does ask nicely.

MuGeN · 21 Jan 2010 at 14:27

so if shutdown -h now which I have been using is in fact nice, why doesn't the system shut down this way as the norm? if i'm running say 10 apps shutting down takes quite a while the normal way, where as the terminal command just... does it, there and then.

what is the technical advantage to the way the system does it via the normal route, is it just simply nicer still?