[solved] how to figure out what process I just started?

[Jin Choi]

Hello, mint users~

Let's suppose I know how to open a file-browser from Mint. When I search for a file-browser in app menu, it comes up. Simple as that.
But, I'd love to know what the corresponding process name. I know it's caja but it's not important. It's just an example. I want to know a general way to figure out under what name of process is an application running.

In this case, I think, I can rephrase my question to 'how to check among all the running processes is the most lastest one, in terms of start_time?
I come up with an multi-piped command like below:
watch 'ps -ef | sort -k 7'

It's half successful and half failed. The problem is, although it sorts processes in order of start_time, there are so many processes with start_time of 00:00:00 and those with the same start_time are secondly alphabetically sorted by process names.
In a nutshell, the start_times are not precise enough to get what I want.

To recap my questions,
1. Is what I want to do possible?
2. Do you know how? (it's feasible even with my command above if start_time more accurate. Do you know how to make it so?
3. Or do you come up with better ways for the result I want?

Thanks

Thanks!

[bigj231]

If you just want to know the names of the applications you're using, you can "edit" your menu and check the launch commands there. Right click on the launcher button. If you want to kill something, but aren't exactly sure what it's called, you can use the 'top' utility.

[semicolon]

ps -ef | sort -k 7

You were not too far off, but ps also has some inbuilt sort, you can try something like:

Code: Select all

ps -ef --sort start_time

or to show the process id, command and elapsed time since starting the program and sort by the elapsed time you can use:

Code: Select all

ps -eo pid,cmd,etime --sort etime

ps is really flexible

[karlchen]

Hi,

and for GUI lovers: there is gnome-system-monitor, too. You can activate the column "Start time" and sort the process list on this column, ascending or descending, just as you like.

Karl

[Jin Choi]

you can "edit" your menu and check the launch commands there.

Yeah. Isn't it great? Ubuntu doesn't seem to have such things. Thanks for your reply

[Jin Choi]

Code: Select all

ps -ef --sort start_time

Code: Select all

ps -eo pid,cmd,etime --sort etime

Shockingly useful! Especially the second one. That just works as I hoped. Problem solved, thanks to you

[Jin Choi]

Hi,
there is gnome-system-monitor. You can activate the column "Start time" and sort the process list on this column, ascending or descending,
Karl

Hello Karl
I figure gnome-system-monitor and mate-system-monitor are the exact same?
I have been using mate-system-monitor embedded in my panel but I realized what to configure, thanks to you Thank you!