using ps with the u option and custom formatting

Leo Simon · 05-29-2009, 11:15 AM

This should be trivial, but it's defeated me completely
I want to combine the u option with custom formating, specifically

I have a script that I'm running called doPingY,

Code:

ps aux | grep doPingY | grep -v grep

shows me that the program is running but all I want is the etime

Code:

ps -eo "%c %t"

gives me exactly the format I want, but it doesn't pick up my batch job. To see that I need the u option. But

Code:

ps -euo "%c %t"

produces a conflicting options error

Any advise would be most appreciated!!

MensaWater · 05-29-2009, 12:25 PM

u requires you to specify a user on the command line. That means for it to work it has to be followed by a user name rather than other flags. Similarly o must be followed by options rather than other flags.

You can still do it but have to separate your flags:

ps -eu <username> -o "%c %t"