Process Browser

A system utility that provides a comprehensive view of running processes on a computer. The application displays real-time information about CPU usage, memory consumption, and other relevant metrics for each process, allowing users to monitor system performance, identify resource-intensive tasks, and terminate problematic ones.

Educational Project

Developed as part of Programming Fundamentals course at NUP 2025.

Code Style

This project follows the K&R (Kernighan and Ritchie) coding style.

Features

1. Real-Time Process Monitoring

   • Description: Displays all running processes in real time with key metrics such as CPU usage, memory consumption, process ID (PID), process name, and user.

2. Text-Based User Interface (TUI)

   • Description: Provides a terminal-based interface for interacting with processes, including navigation, viewing details, and performing actions.

3. Process Sorting and Filtering

   • Description: Enables users to sort and filter processes to quickly find specific tasks or analyze resource usage patterns.

Documentation

All functions are documented using Doxygen docstring format.

Dependencies

Build & Runtime:

• gcc - GNU C Compiler
• make - Build automation tool
• libncurses5-dev / libncursesw5-dev - TUI library

Testing:

• libcriterion-dev - Unit testing framework
• valgrind - Memory leak detection
• lcov - Code coverage HTML reports

Build Instructions

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/programming-fundamentals-nup-2025/examproject2-Tacitus-SL
cd examproject2-Tacitus-SL.git

2. Install dependencies:

make install_deps

3. Build the project:

make

4. Run the process browser:

./pb

Testing

Run all tests:

make test

This command executes:

• Unit tests (Criterion framework)
• Valgrind leak check (ensures zero memory leaks)
• Smoke test (verifies TUI launches without crashes)
• Coverage report (generates HTML report in coverage_report/)

View coverage report:

xdg-open coverage_report/index.html

Usage

Keyboard Controls

Navigation:

• ↑ / ↓ - Move selection up/down
• q - Quit application

Sorting:

• p - Sort by Process ID (PID)
• n - Sort by process Name (alphabetical)
• m - Sort by Memory usage (descending)
• c - Sort by CPU usage (descending)

Actions:

• / - Enter search/filter mode
• ESC - Clear filter (or exit search mode)
• k - Kill selected process (shows confirmation)
• Y / N - Confirm/Cancel kill operation

Installation

Install to /usr/local/bin:

sudo make install

Uninstall:

sudo make uninstall

Project Structure

.
├── src/
│   ├── main.c           # Entry point and main event loop
│   ├── proc.c/proc.h    # Process data collection from /proc
│   ├── sort.c/sort.h    # Sorting logic (PID, name, memory, CPU)
│   └── ui.c/ui.h        # TUI interface (ncurses)
├── tests/
│   └── test.c           # Criterion unit tests
├── Makefile             # Build system
├── README.md
└── .gitignore