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[–] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Why are the square brackets there?

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    There aren't any square brackets.

    The form "function(){content}" in bash defines a function called "function" that, when called by name, executes "content". This forkbomb defines a function called : (just a colon) which calls itself twice in a new subprocess (the two colons inside the curly brackets). It thus spawns more and more copies of itself until it overwhelms your processor.

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