Python is a popular programming language that is widely used for various applications, including web development, data analysis, and automation. One of the key advantages of Python is its ability to run on different operating systems, including Linux. This makes it a versatile tool for developers and system administrators alike.
As a developer or system administrator working on a Linux system, it is important to be able to monitor and manage processes running on the system. This is where the "checking process status in Python on Linux" comes into play. In this article, we will explore how to use Python to check the status of processes on a Linux system.
Before we dive into the code, let's first understand what a process is in the context of a Linux system. A process is a running instance of a program or application. Every time you run a command or open an application on your Linux system, a process is created. These processes are managed by the operating system and can be in one of the following states: running, sleeping, stopped, or zombie.
Now, let's see how we can use Python to check the status of processes on a Linux system. The first step is to import the "subprocess" module, which allows us to run system commands from within our Python code. We will also import the "os" module, which provides functions for interacting with the operating system.
import subprocess
import os
Next, we need to use the "subprocess.run" function to run the "ps" command, which displays information about processes running on the system. We will also pass the "-e" flag to the "ps" command, which ensures that all processes, including those belonging to other users, are displayed.
processes = subprocess.run(['ps', '-e'], stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
The "subprocess.run" function will return a "CompletedProcess" object, which we can use to access the output of the command. We will use the "stdout" attribute to get the output of the "ps" command.
output = processes.stdout
Now, we can use the "splitlines" function to split the output into a list of lines, which we can then loop through to check the status of each process.
output_list = output.splitlines()
for line in output_list:
# do something with the process information
Inside the loop, we can use the "split" function to split each line into a list of words. The third word in each line represents the status of the process. We can use this to print out the process ID and status.
for line in output_list:
process_info = line.split()
pid = process_info[0]
status = process_info[2]
print(f"Process ID: {pid} | Status: {status}")
This code will print out a list of all processes and their corresponding status. You can also add conditions to the loop to filter out specific processes or display more information about each process.
Finally, let's put all of this together and create a function that we can use to check the status of processes anytime we need it.
import subprocess
import os
def check_process_status():
processes = subprocess.run(['ps', '-e'], stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
output = processes.stdout
output_list = output.splitlines()
for line in output_list:
process_info = line.split()
pid = process_info[0]
status = process_info[2]
print(f"Process ID: {pid} | Status: {status}")
check_process_status()
You can save this code in a file, let's say "check_process_status.py", and then run it from the command line using the "python" command.
python check_process_status.py
This will display the list of processes and their status on your Linux system.
In conclusion, Python provides us with a convenient way to check the status of processes on a Linux system. With just a few lines of code, we can get valuable information about the processes running on our system, which can help us in monitoring and managing our system resources effectively. So next time you need to check the status of processes on your Linux system, remember this simple Python code.
