Linux From Scratch - Version 11.2

Chapter 8. Installing Basic System Software

8.72. Procps-ng-4.0.0

The Procps-ng package contains programs for monitoring processes.

Approximate build time: 0.1 SBU
Required disk space: 19 MB

8.72.1. Installation of Procps-ng

Prepare procps-ng for compilation: 

./configure --prefix=/usr                            \
            --docdir=/usr/share/doc/procps-ng-4.0.0 \
            --disable-static                         \
            --disable-kill

The meaning of the configure option:

--disable-kill

This switch disables building the kill command that will be installed by the Util-linux package.

Compile the package: 

make

To run the test suite, run: 

make check

One test named free with commit may fail if some applications with a custom memory allocator (for example, JVM and Web browsers) are running on the host distro.

Install the package: 

make install

8.72.2. Contents of Procps-ng

Installed programs: free, pgrep, pidof, pkill, pmap, ps, pwdx, slabtop, sysctl, tload, top, uptime, vmstat, w, and watch
Installed library: libproc-2.so
Installed directories: /usr/include/procps and /usr/share/doc/procps-ng-4.0.0

Short Descriptions

free

Reports the amount of free and used memory (both physical and swap memory) in the system

pgrep

Looks up processes based on their name and other attributes

pidof

Reports the PIDs of the given programs

pkill

Signals processes based on their name and other attributes

pmap

Reports the memory map of the given process

ps

Lists the current running processes

pwait

Waits for a process to finish before executing.

pwdx

Reports the current working directory of a process

slabtop

Displays detailed kernel slab cache information in real time

sysctl

Modifies kernel parameters at run time

tload

Prints a graph of the current system load average

top

Displays a list of the most CPU intensive processes; it provides an ongoing look at processor activity in real time

uptime

Reports how long the system has been running, how many users are logged on, and the system load averages

vmstat

Reports virtual memory statistics, giving information about processes, memory, paging, block Input/Output (IO), traps, and CPU activity

w

Shows which users are currently logged on, where, and since when

watch

Runs a given command repeatedly, displaying the first screen-full of its output; this allows a user to watch the output change over time

libproc-2

Contains the functions used by most programs in this package