What are the main differences between SIGTERM and SIGKILL signals and how do they affect process termination?

SIGTERM and SIGKILL are signals in Unix-like systems for terminating processes, but they differ in how they affect the process:

• SIGTERM (signal 15) is a polite request for a process to terminate. The process can catch this signal, perform cleanup, save data, and exit gracefully. If the process ignores SIGTERM, it will not be forcibly stopped.

• SIGKILL (signal 9) is a forceful signal that immediately terminates the process without the possibility of handling or cleanup. The process cannot catch or ignore SIGKILL.

Thus, SIGTERM is used for graceful termination, while SIGKILL is a last resort when the process does not respond to other signals.