NICE(1) MachTen Reference Manual NICE(1)

NAME
nice - execute a command at a low scheduling priority

SYNOPSIS
nice [-number] command [arguments]

DESCRIPTION
Nice runs command at a low priority. (Think of low and slow). If
-number is specified, and if it is greater than or equal to 10 (the de-
fault), nice will execute command at that priority. The upper bound, or
lowest priority that nice will run a command is 20. The lower bounds or
higher priorities (integers less than 10) can only be requested by the
super-user. Negative numbers are expressed as --number.

The returned exit status is the exit value from the command executed by
nice.

SEE ALSO
csh(1), renice(8)

HISTORY
A nice command appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX.

BUGS
Nice is particular to sh(1). If you use csh(1), then commands executed
with ‘‘&’’ are automatically immune to hangup signals while in the back-
ground.

Nice is built into csh(1) with a slightly different syntax than described
here. The form ‘nice +10’ nices to positive nice, and ‘nice -10’ can be
used by the super-user to give a process more of the processor.

4th Berkeley Distribution June 6, 1993 1