1b9d0472b7
the src/contrib/top part right now). This tools is simply too system- dependant to maintain it in the ports collection.
179 lines
7.2 KiB
Plaintext
179 lines
7.2 KiB
Plaintext
TOP
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Version 3.4
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William LeFebvre
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and a cast of dozens
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If you do not want to read this entire file, then at least read
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the section at the end entitled "KNOWN PROBLEMS".
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If you are having any problems getting top to work, please read the
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file "FAQ" *before* contacting me. Thank you.
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"top" is a program that will give continual reports about the state of
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the system, including a list of the top cpu using processes. Version 3
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of "top" has three primary design goals: provide an accurate snapshot of
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the system and process state, not be one of the top processes itself, be
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as portable as possible.
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Version 3 has many bug fixes from version 2.5, and it has also been
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reorganized in a major way to make it easy to port to other platforms.
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All system dependent code is now contained in one file.
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Top now includes a configuration script called "Configure". It helps
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the installer choose the correct parameters for this particular
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installation. This script MUST be run before attempting to compile top.
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Top requires read access to the memory files "/dev/kmem" and "/dev/mem"
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as well as the system image "/vmunix". Some installations have these
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files protected from general access. These sites would have to install
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this program in the same way that programs such as "ps" are installed.
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In addition, on those Unix variants that support the proc filesystem
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(such as SVR4 and Solaris 2), top requires read access to all the files
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in /proc: typically dictating that top be installed setuid to root.
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CAVEAT: version 3 of top has internal commands that kill and renice
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processes. Although I have taken steps to insure that top makes
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appropriate checks with these commands, I cannot guarantee that these
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internal commands are totally secure. IF YOU INSTALL top as a SETUID
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program, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK! I realize that some operating
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systems will require top to run setuid, and I will do everything I can
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to make sure that top is a secure setuid program.
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Configure will ask you to input values for certain parameters. Before
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each parameter, Configure will display a description of what the
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parameter does. Read the description and choose an appropriate value.
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Sometimes a default will appear in brackets. Typing just return will
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choose the default.
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System support now takes the form of "modules". Adding support for
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a different architecture requires only adding a module. Configure
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asks which module to use when it is configuring top. See the file
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"Porting" for a description of how to write your own module.
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To compile and install "top", read the file "INSTALL" and follow the
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directions and advice contained therein.
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Once you have created a binary for one particular type of machine, you
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can reconfigure for another type with "./Configure modulename" where
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"modulename" is replaced with the appropriate module name. All other
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parameter values are kept the same. Note that in some cases this may
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not be appropriate.
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If you make any kind of change to "top" that you feel would be
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beneficial to others who use this program, or if you find and fix a bug,
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please send me the change.
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Be sure to read the FAQ enclosed with the distrubution. It contains
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answers to the most commonly asked questions about the configuration,
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installation, and operation of top.
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AVAILABILITY
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The latest version of "top" is now being made available via anonymous
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FTP from the host "ftp.groupsys.com" in the directory "/pub/top".
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Additional modules will be made available in the directory
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"/pub/top/m". The site "eecs.nwu.edu" will continue to house copies
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of the distribution as well.
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Here are HTML links for the two best "top" archive sites:
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<A HREF="ftp://ftp.groupsys.com/pub/top>Top archive (groupsys.com)</A>
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<A HREF="ftp://eecs.nwu.edu/pub/top>Top archive (eecs.nwu.edu)</A>
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New releases will be posted to comp.sources.unix as they become
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available. Sites which arhive that newsgroup will also contain copies
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of the distribution.
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KNOWN PROBLEMS:
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Gnu CC
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Compiling via Gnu CC continued to be the source of most of the
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questions I receive. By far the most common mistake made by those
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attempting to compile top with Gnu CC is out of date include files.
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When the operating system is upgraded, the include files that are part
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of the gcc package MUST also be updated. Gcc maintains its own
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include files. Even a minor OS upgrade can involve changes to some of
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the kernel's internal data structures, which are defined in include
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files in "sys". Top is very sensitive to these changes. If you are
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compiling with gcc and experience any sort of strange problems, please
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make sure the include files you are using are up to date BEFORE
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sending me a bug report. Look in the gcc source distribution for the
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shell script "fixincludes".
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HP/UX 10.10
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In their infinite wisdom, the folks at HP have decided that mere mortals
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such as you and I don't need to know what the kernel's proc structure looks
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like. To that end, they have removed all useful content from the include
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file <sys/proc.h> in version 10.10. As a result, top will not compile
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under 10.10. What HP is trying to accomplish with this move is to force
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iconoclasts such as myself to use "pstat" for collecting all process
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information. I have no immediate solution for this problem, but hope to
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obtain a sufficiently complete definition of "struct proc" at some point in
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the near future. Stay tuned.
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DIGITAL UNIX 4.0 (DECOSF/1 V4.0)
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A user has reported that idle processes are not displayed regardless
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of the flags used when invoking top. We have not had time to track
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this problem down.
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DECOSF/1 V3.0
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There is a bug either in the module, in utils.c, or in DEC's optimizer that
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is tickled by the decosf1 module when compiled under V3.0 (and perhaps
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earlier versions). Top compiled using DEC's compiler with optimization
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will consistently produce a segmentation fault (in format_next_process
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while calling sprintf). To work around this problem, either compile top
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with gcc or turn off optimization (compile without -O). We think that
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one of the bugs fixed in utils.c fixed this problem as well, but we are
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not certain.
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System V R 4.2
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Load average and memory displays do not work. The problem has been
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traced down to a potential bug in the "mem" driver. The author
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of the svr42 module is working on a fix.
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GRATITUDE
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My perpetual thanks to all the people who have helped me support top
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on so many platforms. Without these people, top would not be what it
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is. Here is a partial list of contributors and other individuals.
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Robert Boucher <boucher@sofkin.ca>
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Marc Cohen <marc@aai.com>
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David Cutter <dpc@grail.com>
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Casper Dik <casper@fwi.uva.nl>
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Charles Hedrick <hedrick@geneva.rutgers.edu>
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Andrew Herbert <andrew@werple.apana.org.au>
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Jeff Janvrin <jeff.janvrin@columbiasc.ncr.com>
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Torsten Kasch <torsten@techfak.uni-bielefeld.de>
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Petri Kutvonen <kutvonen@cs.helsinki.fi>
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William L. Jones <jones@chpc>
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Tim Pugh <tpugh@oce.orst.edu>
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Steve Scherf <scherf@swdc.stratus.com>
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Phillip Wu <pwu01@qantek.com.au>
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(My apologies if I missed anyone.)
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AUTHOR
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William LeFebvre
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Group sys Consulting
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wnl@groupsys.com
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U.S. Mail address:
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William LeFebvre
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170 Colton Crest Drive
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Alpharetta, GA 30202
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(770) 813-3224
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