fork bomb: n. [Unix] A particular species of wabbit that can
be written in one line of C (`main() {for(;;)fork();}') or shell
(`$0 & $0 &') on any Unix system, or occasionally created by an
egregious coding bug. A fork bomb process `explodes' by recursively
spawning copies of itself (using the Unix system call `fork(2)').
Eventually it eats all the process table entries and effectively
wedges the system. Fortunately, fork bombs are relatively easy to
spot and kill, so creating one deliberately seldom accomplishes more
than to bring the just wrath of the gods down upon the perpetrator.
See also logic bomb.