So, it uses the fact that bash allows functions with non-alphanumeric names, in this case it defines a function called :. If we rename that to, for example bomb it becomes a little clearer:
bomb(){ bomb | bomb& };bomb
This defines a function that calls itself piped into a version of itself in a separate, background, process (that’s what the & does) and then calls that function. Calling itself means the function never ends (it’s essentially a recursive version of an infinite loop) and the extra background process that is created each time it’s called means that it just keeps exponentially creating new processes that don’t exit and each of which infinitely forks off more processes until the OS runs out of resources (unless you use ulimit to set per-session/per-user process limits - this may even be done by default on some distros these days, it’s been a while since I looked)
People do it as a stress test of their system. A goodly OS should be able to stop it before it crashes the system, otherwise it won’t cause much damage (depends on what else you’re doing when it crashes)
Can you explain for us casuals?
So, it uses the fact that bash allows functions with non-alphanumeric names, in this case it defines a function called
:. If we rename that to, for examplebombit becomes a little clearer:bomb(){ bomb | bomb& };bombThis defines a function that calls itself piped into a version of itself in a separate, background, process (that’s what the
&does) and then calls that function. Calling itself means the function never ends (it’s essentially a recursive version of an infinite loop) and the extra background process that is created each time it’s called means that it just keeps exponentially creating new processes that don’t exit and each of which infinitely forks off more processes until the OS runs out of resources (unless you useulimitto set per-session/per-user process limits - this may even be done by default on some distros these days, it’s been a while since I looked)Casual here ,
It is a process that copies and splits itself until all the computer’s processing power is used up, causing it to crash.
Test it at your own risk
Usually, you can restart without problems afterwards .
I did this 10 years ago on a Mint computer.
This is the fun part of your journey with Linux , you are the boss of your computer.
Sounds awful. Since I switched to Mint my computer has only crashed when I got out of hand with Blender, I can’t see myself doing it on purpose.
People do it as a stress test of their system. A goodly OS should be able to stop it before it crashes the system, otherwise it won’t cause much damage (depends on what else you’re doing when it crashes)