[Chapter 12] 12.3 The "Current Job" Isn't Always What You Expect
Author: Jerry Peek, Tim O'Reilly & Mike Loukides
Date: 1998-08-04T21:36:27Z

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| Chapter 12 Job Control |

## 12.3 The "Current Job" Isn't Always What You Expect

`%` is the "current" stopped or background job, but not always the last one. If you've stopped any jobs, the current job is the most recently stopped job. Otherwise, it's the most recent background job. For example, try stopping your editor (like vi), then putting another job in the background:

    sleep
    % vi afile
    [CTRL-z]
    Stopped
    % sleep 1000 &
    [2] 12345
    % fg

and notice that the `fg` brings your editor to the foreground.

- JP

12.2 Other Ways to Refer to Jobs |  | 12.4 Job Control and autowrite: Real Time Savers!