Which keyboard combination is used to pause the execution of a process?

The keyboard combination that is used to pause the execution of a process is Ctrl + Z. When this combination is pressed, it sends a SIGTSTP signal to the currently running foreground process. This signal instructs the process to suspend its execution and put it in the background, allowing the user to regain control of the terminal. The process can then be resumed later, either in the foreground using the fg command or in the background using the bg command.

This is particularly useful when a user wants to temporarily halt a process without terminating it. Other combinations have different functions: for instance, Ctrl + C interrupts and forces the termination of a process, while Ctrl + D sends an EOF (end-of-file) signal, which is usually used to signal the end of input. Ctrl + X, while used in various contexts for cutting text in some applications, does not have a standard function related to process management in Linux.