What are Core files.

[bushtangu]

today i find some core files in my server aprox 25-30 mb each. can anybode tell me, what are them? i google it and people says that smth goes wrong. how to know what is going wrong?
thank you

[dewt]

They are files that are created when a process terminates unexpectedly. They can be deleted but it is a good idea to try and find out what caused them in the first place. That way you may be able to stop it happening again.

From the UnixGuide website (http://www.unixguide.net/linux/faq/07.13.shtml):

A core file is created when a program terminates unexpectedly, due to
a bug, or a violation of the operating system's or hardware's
protection mechanisms. The operating system kills the program and
creates a core file that programmers can use to figure out what went
wrong. It contains a detailed description of the state that the
program was in when it died.

If would like to determine what program a core file came from, use the
file command, like this:

$ file core

That will tell you the name of the program that produced the core
dump. You may want to write the maintainer(s) of the program, telling
them that their program dumped core.

[Eric Hanchrow]

[Brand]

"People who ask our advice almost never take it. Yet we should never refuse to give it, upon request, for it often helps us to see our own way more clearly."

-- Brendan Francis

thats a mighty fine fine quote