PS(C) XENIX System V PS(C)
Name
ps - Reports process status.
Syntax
ps [ options ]
Description
ps prints certain information about active processes.
Without options, information is printed about processes
associated with the current terminal. Otherwise, the
information that is displayed is controlled by the following
options:
-e Prints information about all processes.
-d Prints information about all processes, except
process group leaders.
-a Prints information about all processes, except
process group leaders and processes not
associated with a terminal.
-f Generates a full listing. (Normally, a short
listing containing only process ID, terminal
(``tty'') identifier, cumulative execution time,
and the command name is printed.) See below for
meaning of columns in a full listing.
-l Generates a long listing. See below.
-c corefile Uses the file corefile in place of /dev/mem.
-s swapdev Uses the file swapdev in place of /dev/swap.
This is useful when examining a corefile.
-n namelist The argument is taken as the name of an
alternate namelist (/xenix is the default).
-t tlist Restricts listing to data about the processes
associated with the terminals given in tlist,
where tlist can be in one of two forms: a list
of terminal identifiers separated from one
another by a comma, or a list of terminal
identifiers enclosed in double quotes and
separated from one another by a comma and/or one
or more spaces.
-p plist Restricts listing to data about processes whose
process ID numbers are given in plist, where
plist is in the same format as tlist.
-u ulist Restricts listing to data about processes whose
Page 1 (printed 8/7/87)
PS(C) XENIX System V PS(C)
user ID numbers or login names are given in
ulist, where ulist is in the same format as
tlist. In the listing, the numerical user ID is
printed unless the -f option is used, in which
case the login name is printed.
-g glist Restricts listing to data about processes whose
process groups are given in glist, where glist
is a list of process group leaders and is in the
same format as tlist.
The column headings and the meaning of the columns in a ps
listing are given below; the letters f and l indicate the
option (full or long) that causes the corresponding heading
to appear; all means that the heading always appears. Note
that these two options only determine what information is
provided for a process; they do not determine which
processes will be listed.
F (l) A status word consisting of flags associated
with the process. Each flag is associated
with a bit in the status word. These flags
are added to form a single octal number.
Process flag bits and their meanings are:
01 in core;
02 system process;
04 locked in core (e.g., for physical
I/O);
10 being swapped;
20 being traced by another process.
S (l) The state of the process:
0 non-existent;
S sleeping;
W waiting;
R running;
I intermediate;
Z terminated;
T stopped.
UID (f,l) The user ID number of the process owner; the
login name is printed under the -f option.
PID (all) The process ID of the process; it is
possible to kill a process if you know this
datum.
PPID (f,l) The process ID of the parent process.
C (f,l) Processor utilization for scheduling.
STIME (f) Starting time of the process.
PRI (l) The priority of the process; higher numbers
mean lower priority.
NI (l) Nice value; used in priority computation.
ADDR (l) The memory address of the process, if
resident; otherwise, the disk address.
SZ (l) The size in blocks of the core image of the
Page 2 (printed 8/7/87)
PS(C) XENIX System V PS(C)
process, but not including the size of text
shared with other processes. Since this
size includes the current size of the stack,
it will vary as the stack size varies.
WCHAN (l) The event for which the process is waiting
or sleeping; if blank, the process is
running.
TTY (all) The controlling terminal for the process.
TIME (all) The cumulative execution time for the
process.
CMD (all) The command name; the full command name and
its arguments are printed under the -f
option.
A process that has exited and has a parent, but has not yet
been waited for by the parent, is marked <defunct>.
Under the -f option, ps tries to determine the command name
and arguments given when the process was created by
examining memory or the swap area. Failing this, the
command name, as it would appear without the -f option, is
printed in square brackets.
Files
/xenix system namelist
/dev/mem memory
/dev searched to find swap device and terminal
(``tty'') names.
See Also
kill(C), nice(C)
Notes
Things can change while ps is running; the picture it gives
is only a close approximation to reality.
Some data printed for defunct processes are irrelevant.
Page 3 (printed 8/7/87)