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Identifying a Process in an Operating System

Process identification in an Operating System involves assigning a unique identifier, known as the Process ID (PID), to each process for efficient management. Key identifiers include the Parent Process ID (PPID), User ID (UID), and execution state, with various commands available for different operating systems to identify processes. Understanding process identification is essential for effective process management, resource allocation, debugging, and security.

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23 views

Identifying a Process in an Operating System

Process identification in an Operating System involves assigning a unique identifier, known as the Process ID (PID), to each process for efficient management. Key identifiers include the Parent Process ID (PPID), User ID (UID), and execution state, with various commands available for different operating systems to identify processes. Understanding process identification is essential for effective process management, resource allocation, debugging, and security.

Uploaded by

yatakonakiran2
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Identifying a Process in an Operating System

1. What is Process Identification?


Every process in an Operating System (OS) is assigned a unique identifier that
helps the OS manage, schedule, and track processes efficiently. This identifier is
known as the Process ID (PID).

2. Key Identifiers of a Process


Identifier Description
Process ID (PID) A unique number assigned to each process.
Parent Process ID (PPID) The ID of the process that created it.
User ID (UID) & Group ID (GID) Identifies the user and group that owns the
process.
Process Name The name of the program being executed.
Priority (Nice Value) Determines process scheduling priority.
Execution State Indicates whether the process is running, ready, or waiting.
3. How to Identify a Process in Different OS?
🔹 Linux/Unix Commands
1 ps Command – Lists active processes.
1️⃣

bash
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ps -aux
2️⃣ top Command – Displays real-time process info.

bash
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top
3️⃣ pidof Command – Finds the PID of a running process.

bash
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pidof firefox
4️⃣ pgrep Command – Searches for processes by name.

bash
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pgrep chrome
🔹 Windows Commands
1️⃣ Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) – Shows all running processes.
2️⃣ Command Prompt (cmd)

List all processes:

powershell
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tasklist
Find a specific process:

powershell
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tasklist | findstr "chrome"
3️⃣ PowerShell (Get-Process)
powershell
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Get-Process | Select-Object -Property Name, Id
🔹 Programming Methods (C, Python)
1️⃣ C Program (Linux)

c
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#include <stdio.h>
#include <unistd.h>

int main() {
printf("Process ID: %d\n", getpid());
printf("Parent Process ID: %d\n", getppid());
return 0;
}
2️⃣ Python (Cross-Platform)

python
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import os
print("Process ID:", os.getpid())
print("Parent Process ID:", os.getppid())
4. Importance of Process Identification
✅ Process Management – Helps in tracking and scheduling processes
✅ Resource Allocation – Ensures memory and CPU are assigned properly
✅ Debugging & Monitoring – Helps in troubleshooting issues
✅ Security & Access Control – Allows managing user privileges

5. Conclusion
Identifying a process is crucial for system monitoring, resource management, and
debugging. OS provides multiple ways (commands, programming, UI tools) to retrieve
process details.

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