Is it a bug or a feature that epmd process still exists after I exit from an erlang shell ?
+4
A:
It is quite normal: EPMD is a host daemon process. Its presence is required when one intends to use distributed nodes. It is also useful when just using many nodes on the same machine.
jldupont
2010-01-06 14:00:42
Although there is no much point of epmd hanging around if no erlang nodes are running :)
Zed
2010-01-06 14:21:20
@zed: of course but you probably do not want an Application to carry the burden of managing EPMD's lifecycle :-)
jldupont
2010-01-06 14:22:32
No need to manage; epmd does know when there are no more VMs there. It could simply kill itself :)
Zed
2010-01-06 14:26:48
Why this additional burden? The VMs are quite happy not to have to wait for the services of EPMD to be available. I don't really see an upside in trying to optimize this situation.
jldupont
2010-01-06 14:53:20
On my machine epmd is already started by the VM :o) It starts the first time I run `erl` with name or sname.
Zed
2010-01-06 18:47:44
@zed: just checked on my machine: epmd is started very early in the boot cycle since I am using lots of erlang based services. I had assumed it was started during boot process independently of VMs but I am proven wrong!
jldupont
2010-01-06 19:03:16