Previous: System Calls, Up: Program Basics
The usual way for a program to terminate is simply for its main
function to return. The exit status value returned from the
main function is used to report information back to the process's
parent process or shell.
A program can also terminate normally by calling the exit
function.
In addition, programs can be terminated by signals; this is discussed in
more detail in Signal Handling. The abort function causes
a signal that kills the program.