kill -HUP `cat /var/run/syslogd.pid`
I've seen this type of thing suggested alot, is there a reason this is better than: killall -HUP syslogd
no, there is no reason.
It was suggested offlist that using the kill one would prevent unwanted SIGHUPage of other processes called syslogd, and this sounds a viable one, although it was possibly shortsighted of the person who decided to call their process syslogd.
/cog
Since you can rely on /var/run/syslogd.pid to contain the current pid of syslogd, the kill method is safe. Also keep in mind that kill is a shell builtin, killall is not (and may not be installed). Granted, this doesn't really have an impact, but it is an aspect. Roman. -- _ _ | Roman Drahtmüller "Freedom means that you can choose | CC University of Freiburg what you want to learn at a given | email: draht@uni-freiburg.de time." A. Becker, 1999 | - - People often find it easier to be a result of the past than a cause of the future.