How Can I List Running Linux Processes and Their Open Files Without Directly Accessing `/proc`?

Enumerating Processes and Associated Open Files

Question:

How can I obtain a list of running processes on a Linux system and determine which files they have open without resorting to direct inspection of the /proc/ file system?

Answer:

Using Procps-ng

The Procps-ng project provides the source code for the widely used ps and other process investigation tools. Their implementation utilizes the /proc/ file system to gather process information. For detailed insights into their approach, you can examine the readproc.c file in their source code repository:

https://gitlab.com/procps-ng/procps/-/blob/master/library/readproc.c

Leveraging Libproc

An alternative method is to employ the libproc library, which provides a comprehensive API for accessing process information. It should be available in most repositories and provides headers and other essential components in its "-dev" variant. Consult your specific package manager for installation details.

Additional Tips:

• Use the pmap command to determine if the target process is accessing shared memory
• Consult the man pages of proc and libproc for comprehensive documentation

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