How can I fork two programs to the background using one line of bash and possibly an ampersand?

Question

I have two programs that run indefinitely. I know I can fork one to the background then run the other by typing this at the command line: ``` > program1 & > program2 & ``` However, I'm lazy and don't want to hit enter, I just want to run them both immediately. But bash complains when I do this: ``` > program1 &; program2 & ``` How can I run them both at the same time?

Accepted Answer

You leave out the ';' char, i.e.

```
 program1 &  program2 &
```

I hope this helps.

How can I fork two programs to the background using one line of bash and possibly an ampersand?

Solution

Problem