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Posts Tagged ‘Linux’

Processes in Linux: Fun with Terminal

March 8th, 2013 No comments

Warning: the content may increase your appetite for interest in Linux.
It’s a myth that “processes” are a complex concept. A process is an executing set of machine level instruction or code.
Whenever you are running an application, a process that belongs to this application is running. There are some processes which runs only in the background. They are called daemons in Linux. The process status, “ps” command shows the currently running processes.
Enough with the theory, now let’s get our hands dirty. Open a terminal session on your favorite Linux distribution.

The “ps” command has mainly two options

  • -e lists all running processes
  • -f shows full process status

At the terminal type “ps -ef

 

full_process_list_linux

  • UID – id of user who invoked terminal
  • PID – ID of that process
  • PPID – parent process ID of the running process
  • C – no. of child processes
  • STIME – start time
  • TTY – terminal executing the process, shows “?” when it is a daemon
  • CMD – name of the process

When the system boots only one process exists – the init process, which is invoked by kernel. Kernel is the core of an operating system on which all other drivers and applications exist and run. The first process on the list is thus always be init.

At the terminal type “ps -e

process_list_linux

How to initiate a background process?

Linux is a true multi-user, multitasking OS. You can run more than one process simultaneously. Type the program name followed by an ampersand(&) separated by a space

vlc &

vlc

The “&” allows to run vlc media player in the background of our parent shell.

  • [1] shows number of child process.
  • 3120 is the process ID(PID) of vlc.

 As a side note, try “ps” command on your Android phone or tablet. Fire up a terminal emulator and see what happens

 

 

android_processandroid_process_list

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Get System Management BIOS table in Human readable format, DMI Decode

September 21st, 2010 No comments

Dmidecode is a tool which queries DMI/SMBIOS information and presents it in human readable form. DMIDecode runs on BSD systems and a variety of other *nix distributions. Let’s see it in action. Fire up a terminal and type:

dmidecode –t x

where x can be any of these valid type keywords:

  • bios
  • system
  • baseboard
  • chassis
  • processor
  • memory
  • cache
  • connector
  • slot
  • dmidecodet

    dmidecode –s x

    where x can be any of these valid type keywords:

    • bios-vendor
    • bios-version
    • bios-release-date
    • system-manufacturer
    • system-product-name
    • system-version
    • system-serial-number
    • system-uuid
    • baseboard-manufacturer
    • baseboard-product-name
    • baseboard-version
    • baseboard-serial-number
    • baseboard-asset-tag
    • chassis-manufacturer
    • chassis-type
    • chassis-version
    • chassis-serial-number
    • chassis-asset-tag
    • processor-family
    • processor-manufacturer
    • processor-version
    • processor-frequency

     

      dmidecodes

      Read more…

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      Install Linux from Windows at ease

      February 6th, 2009 1 comment

      Many of my friends wanted to try Linux on their systems, but they don’t want to mess up with the Redmond giant. If you have some spare hard disk space here is the solution.

      wubi_logo

      Wubi is an officially supported Ubuntu installer for Windows users that can bring you to the Linux world with a single click. It allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other Windows application, in a simple and safe way.
      No need to burn a CD. Just run the installer, enter a password for the new account, and click "Install", and when you are back, Ubuntu will be ready for you.
      You keep Windows as it is, Wubi only adds an extra option to boot into Ubuntu. Wubi does not require you to modify the partitions of your PC, or to use a different boot loader, and does not install special drivers. It works just like any other application. It is spyware and malware free, and being open source, anyone can verify that.
      It keeps most of the files in one folder, and if you do not like it, you can simply uninstall it as any other application.

      Requirements

      • 256 MB memory
      • 5 GB hard disk space
      • Windows 98, 2000, XP, Vista


      Download Link

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