Process(3)

💖 NAME 💖

Unix::Process — a Perl extension that pulls pid info straight out of /usr/bin/ps. no cap. 🫶

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

  use Unix::Process;

    my $vsz = Unix::Process->vsz($$);
    my $pid = Unix::Process->pid;

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

okay bestie, here's the whole vibe: every single field that the ps command gives you can be fetched by just calling a function named after that field (peep the SYNOPSIS, it's right there 💅). And if you don't hand the function a pid as an argument, it just assumes $$ — aka the current pid. easy. ✨

This module is literally just one giant AUTOLOAD that goes and chats with the /usr/bin/ps command. iconic behavior honestly. the author says he supposes he could be talked into doing something real with it some day 😭 — so like, lowkey it's a vibe, not a lifestyle.

Now for the part you actually need, so listen up 🎀: you can manually set

$Unix::Process::PS_PROGRAM = "/opt/bin/ps"

by hand, or you can set

$ENV{PS_PATH} = "/usr/local/bin/ps"

— but either way you must somehow tell Unix::Process where ps lives. Otherwise? It's gonna guess /usr/bin/ps and hope for the best 🙈.

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👑 AUTHOR 👑

Paul Miller <jettero@cpan.org>

He says he's using this software in his own projects... and if you find bugs, please please please let him know. :) Actually — let him know if you find it handy at all. Half the fun of releasing this stuff is knowing that people use it. 🥹 that's so real of him fr fr 💜

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🎀 COPYRIGHT 🎀

Copyright (c) 2007-2009 Paul Miller -- LGPL

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🦋 SEE ALSO 🦋

• perl(1)
• ps

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and that's the whole page, bestie — this one's from perl v5.42.0, dated 2025-07-25, filed under Process(3) in the User Contributed Perl Documentation. slay, go get those pids 💅✨