Hi, I need to make a process that implements a simpler version of PS.

Basically, I need it so that it runs through all the PID's in the /proc file system and gets the CMD names like it does in ps.

How would i do this in C. (I have a file that is created in the /proc file system using functions from proc_fs.h. On every read of that file I want it to show all the PID's and their CMD Names).

Ive been searching around and it seems

find_task_by_id(pid)

Will get me the task_struct of a particular PID, which i can then get the CMD name from.

However how can I iterate through the PID's in the proc filesystem.

Thanks for any help.

I would imagine that it would be better to make direct syscalls rather than go through the proc filesystem, since the proc filesystem is not available on all systems. It will also likely be faster.

Incidentally, what could be simpler than using ps?
If you want to know how ps does it, simply look at the source for that program.

This is in kernel code tho, and thus i need to go through the proc filesystem.

How do i do basic directory and file searching in kernel code?
What files do i need to include to implement functions such as

opendir/readdir and use the DIR filetype.

Why wont it allow me include stdio.h / dirent.h /stdlib.h?

I was curious about how ps is running, so I ran strace with it, and it looks as though it is using the proc filesystem itself. I did not expect it.

Those are headers associated with libc and to use their functions, programs need to link to libc. Kernel code can't link to user-space libraries: it must do everything using system calls and the kernel interface. The system calls involved in using /proc would probably be a lot more work than figuring out how to do it straight through the kernel interface. Look at /usr/include/asm/unistd.h for a list of system calls on your system.
ta0kira

Ive been looking at proc_fs.h and I think i can do most of what i need to in there:

Although im not sure how to implement it..

but:

Would using proc_readdir(struct file *, void *, filldir_t); in a loop allow me to go through all the proc_entries in the proc filesystem?

Although it seems this returns an int. If i could somehow loop through the entries and get a handle for each proc_dentry struct and then I could get the proc_inode from that and then get the pid from that.

Just wondering if proc_readdir is the right thing to use here and if so how do I implement it. If not are their any other methods in proc_fs.h that do the job? Thanks.

Btw quicklink to proc_fs.h here : http://lxr.linux.no/source/include/linux/proc_fs.h

I think proc_fs.h is the right way to go (as opposed to the actual /proc directory.) I don't know much about it, but I do know it's a kernel interface, so you won't have to link to a library. You'll just have to make sure procfs is enabled in the kernel.
ta0kira

Huh .... ???
Kernel-space iterating over /proc ???. WTF ???
That's user-space thinking.

task_struct is a linked list. current points to the current task (maybe init, but who cares) - just walk the list.

*Then* use your /proc/whatever to expose the results to user-land.