When a process terminates its execution, either by calling "exit" (even if implicitly, by executing a return command from the "main" function) or by receiving a signal that causes it to terminate abruptly, the operating system releases most of the resources and information related to that process, but still keeps the data about resource utilization and the termination status code, because a parent process might be interested in knowing if that child executed successfully (by using standard functions to decode the termination status code) and the amount of system resources it consumed during its execution.