From e67bd9e05089bdb368f146a1cec73ddeebc3fdf4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Corey Butler Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2020 17:23:51 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] doc: clarify process.title inconsistencies Many users assume the act of assigning a value to `process.title` will update the name of their application in apps like macOS Activity Monitor or Windows Services Manager. This has worked in the past, but fails in some versions of Node.js. Ultimately developers are left confused, especially when it works in one version of Node.js and not another. Given the recurring nature and complexity of the underlying problem, it does not seem like a resolvable problem. This note clarifies the source of the problem, sets developer expectations. Refs: https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/28945 PR-URL: https://github.com/nodejs/node/pull/34557 Fixes: https://github.com/nodejs/node/issues/34280 Reviewed-By: Ben Noordhuis Reviewed-By: James M Snell Reviewed-By: Anna Henningsen Reviewed-By: Luigi Pinca Reviewed-By: Rich Trott --- doc/api/process.md | 6 ++++++ 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+) diff --git a/doc/api/process.md b/doc/api/process.md index 9271c92623a79c..7332eb30a9bc12 100644 --- a/doc/api/process.md +++ b/doc/api/process.md @@ -2368,6 +2368,12 @@ allowed for longer process title strings by also overwriting the `environ` memory but that was potentially insecure and confusing in some (rather obscure) cases. +Assigning a value to `process.title` _may_ not reflect an accurate +(or any) label within the process manager application of the underlying +operating system (i.e. macOS Activity Monitor, Windows Services Manager, etc). +Inconsistencies and breaking changes within the _operating systems process +interface_ make synchronization with these applications unreliable. + ## `process.traceDeprecation`