source: trunk/third/top/README @ 9084

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1                             TOP
2                         Version 3.4
3
4                       William LeFebvre
5                     and a cast of dozens
6
7
8If you do not want to read this entire file, then at least read
9the section at the end entitled "KNOWN PROBLEMS".
10
11If you are having any problems getting top to work, please read the
12file "FAQ" *before* contacting me.  Thank you.
13
14"top" is a program that will give continual reports about the state of
15the system, including a list of the top cpu using processes.  Version 3
16of "top" has three primary design goals: provide an accurate snapshot of
17the system and process state, not be one of the top processes itself, be
18as portable as possible.
19
20Version 3 has many bug fixes from version 2.5, and it has also been
21reorganized in a major way to make it easy to port to other platforms.
22All system dependent code is now contained in one file.
23
24Top now includes a configuration script called "Configure".  It helps
25the installer choose the correct parameters for this particular
26installation.  This script MUST be run before attempting to compile top.
27
28Top requires read access to the memory files "/dev/kmem" and "/dev/mem"
29as well as the system image "/vmunix".  Some installations have these
30files protected from general access.  These sites would have to install
31this program in the same way that programs such as "ps" are installed.
32In addition, on those Unix variants that support the proc filesystem
33(such as SVR4 and Solaris 2), top requires read access to all the files
34in /proc: typically dictating that top be installed setuid to root.
35
36CAVEAT: version 3 of top has internal commands that kill and renice
37processes.  Although I have taken steps to insure that top makes
38appropriate checks with these commands, I cannot guarantee that these
39internal commands are totally secure.  IF YOU INSTALL top as a SETUID
40program, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK!  I realize that some operating
41systems will require top to run setuid, and I will do everything I can
42to make sure that top is a secure setuid program.
43
44Configure will ask you to input values for certain parameters.  Before
45each parameter, Configure will display a description of what the
46parameter does.  Read the description and choose an appropriate value.
47Sometimes a default will appear in brackets.  Typing just return will
48choose the default.
49
50System support now takes the form of "modules".  Adding support for
51a different architecture requires only adding a module.  Configure
52asks which module to use when it is configuring top.  See the file
53"Porting" for a description of how to write your own module.
54
55To compile and install "top", read the file "INSTALL" and follow the
56directions and advice contained therein.
57
58Once you have created a binary for one particular type of machine, you
59can reconfigure for another type with "./Configure modulename" where
60"modulename" is replaced with the appropriate module name.  All other
61parameter values are kept the same.  Note that in some cases this may
62not be appropriate.
63
64If you make any kind of change to "top" that you feel would be
65beneficial to others who use this program, or if you find and fix a bug,
66please send me the change.
67
68Be sure to read the FAQ enclosed with the distrubution.  It contains
69answers to the most commonly asked questions about the configuration,
70installation, and operation of top.
71
72AVAILABILITY
73
74The latest version of "top" is now being made available via anonymous
75FTP from the host "ftp.groupsys.com" in the directory "/pub/top".
76Additional modules will be made available in the directory
77"/pub/top/m".  The site "eecs.nwu.edu" will continue to house copies
78of the distribution as well.
79
80Here are HTML links for the two best "top" archive sites:
81
82<A HREF="ftp://ftp.groupsys.com/pub/top>Top archive (groupsys.com)</A>
83<A HREF="ftp://eecs.nwu.edu/pub/top>Top archive (eecs.nwu.edu)</A>
84
85New releases will be posted to comp.sources.unix as they become
86available.  Sites which arhive that newsgroup will also contain copies
87of the distribution.
88
89KNOWN PROBLEMS:
90
91Gnu CC
92
93Compiling via Gnu CC continued to be the source of most of the
94questions I receive.  By far the most common mistake made by those
95attempting to compile top with Gnu CC is out of date include files.
96When the operating system is upgraded, the include files that are part
97of the gcc package MUST also be updated.  Gcc maintains its own
98include files.  Even a minor OS upgrade can involve changes to some of
99the kernel's internal data structures, which are defined in include
100files in "sys".  Top is very sensitive to these changes.  If you are
101compiling with gcc and experience any sort of strange problems, please
102make sure the include files you are using are up to date BEFORE
103sending me a bug report.  Look in the gcc source distribution for the
104shell script "fixincludes".
105
106HP/UX 10.10
107
108In their infinite wisdom, the folks at HP have decided that mere mortals
109such as you and I don't need to know what the kernel's proc structure looks
110like.  To that end, they have removed all useful content from the include
111file <sys/proc.h> in version 10.10.  As a result, top will not compile
112under 10.10.  What HP is trying to accomplish with this move is to force
113iconoclasts such as myself to use "pstat" for collecting all process
114information.  I have no immediate solution for this problem, but hope to
115obtain a sufficiently complete definition of "struct proc" at some point in
116the near future.  Stay tuned.
117
118DIGITAL UNIX 4.0 (DECOSF/1 V4.0)
119
120A user has reported that idle processes are not displayed regardless
121of the flags used when invoking top.  We have not had time to track
122this problem down.
123
124DECOSF/1 V3.0
125
126There is a bug either in the module, in utils.c, or in DEC's optimizer that
127is tickled by the decosf1 module when compiled under V3.0 (and perhaps
128earlier versions).  Top compiled using DEC's compiler with optimization
129will consistently produce a segmentation fault (in format_next_process
130while calling sprintf).  To work around this problem, either compile top
131with gcc or turn off optimization (compile without -O).  We think that
132one of the bugs fixed in utils.c fixed this problem as well, but we are
133not certain.
134
135
136System V R 4.2
137
138Load average and memory displays do not work.  The problem has been
139traced down to a potential bug in the "mem" driver.  The author
140of the svr42 module is working on a fix.
141
142
143
144GRATITUDE
145
146My perpetual thanks to all the people who have helped me support top
147on so many platforms.  Without these people, top would not be what it
148is.  Here is a partial list of contributors and other individuals.
149
150        Robert Boucher          <boucher@sofkin.ca>
151        Marc Cohen              <marc@aai.com>
152        David Cutter            <dpc@grail.com>
153        Casper Dik              <casper@fwi.uva.nl>
154        Charles Hedrick         <hedrick@geneva.rutgers.edu>
155        Andrew Herbert          <andrew@werple.apana.org.au>
156        Jeff Janvrin            <jeff.janvrin@columbiasc.ncr.com>
157        Torsten Kasch           <torsten@techfak.uni-bielefeld.de>
158        Petri Kutvonen          <kutvonen@cs.helsinki.fi>
159        William L. Jones        <jones@chpc>
160        Tim Pugh                <tpugh@oce.orst.edu>
161        Steve Scherf            <scherf@swdc.stratus.com>
162        Phillip Wu              <pwu01@qantek.com.au>
163
164(My apologies if I missed anyone.)
165
166
167AUTHOR
168
169                William LeFebvre
170                Group sys Consulting
171                wnl@groupsys.com
172
173
174                U.S. Mail address:
175                    William LeFebvre
176                    170 Colton Crest Drive
177                    Alpharetta, GA  30202
178                    (770) 813-3224
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