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Kinstonian
10-24-2001, 06:29 PM
In my /proc folder i have a ton of folders that have only numbers for a name. In each one seems to be a program. Why are the folders named with only numbers? I didn't have this until i upgraded to RH 7.2 ... Also when ever i load linux i have a light bulb that follows my cursor for about 30 seconds. Anyone know what that is?
ppmnt
10-24-2001, 06:35 PM
The /proc directory, which in some other OS's is a seperate file system, stores information about all processes that are running on your system. The numbers are the pid's (process ID's). If you do a 'ps -ef' you'll see the pids in the second column.

ppmnt http://www.plauder-smilies.de/tiere/pengy.gif
ppmnt
10-24-2001, 06:37 PM
oh yeah -- DON'T TOUCH IT!
Don't try to mess with the files and directories in /proc. The OS keeps track of them and cleans them up as needed.

ppmnt http://www.plauder-smilies.de/devil/flamingdevil.gif
Kinstonian
10-24-2001, 06:41 PM
Originally posted by ppmnt:
<STRONG>The /proc directory, which in some other OS's is a seperate file system, stores information about all processes that are running on your system. The numbers are the pid's (process ID's). If you do a 'ps -ef' you'll see the pids in the second column.

ppmnt http://www.plauder-smilies.de/tiere/pengy.gif </STRONG>


thanks, do i need that folder? I dont think my brother has it on RH 7.1 and i got RH 7.2. Its almost 300 megs and that seems to be a lot for just info on some processes..

Edit: hehe already answered my question :)

[ 24 October 2001: Message edited by: Kinstonian ]
stiles
10-24-2001, 06:42 PM
the /proc filesystem is a virtual filesystem which show's information on the processes. The number of the directory is the PID (process ID) of the program. If you echo status in the directory you will see the name state PID PPID etc...
X_console
10-24-2001, 07:28 PM
Yes, you need /proc. Don't delete it, don't mess with it unless you know what you're doing.
MBMarduk
10-24-2001, 07:38 PM
Originally posted by Kinstonian:
<STRONG>Its almost 300 megs...</STRONG>

Like menioned before: It's virtual, so it doesn't really exist on your HDD.
To find out type

du -h /proc

or

du -hs /proc

and you'll see...