Linux · Process Management

The CPU looks idle but the machine crawls, and top's CPU sort tells you nothing useful. Which monitor should you reach for instead, and how do you narrow its output?

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More in Process Management

On Linux, what single file attribute distinguishes a runnable program from an ordinary data file, and why does that make file extensions irrelevant for execution?

A Windows user asks where the .exe files live on a Linux box. What is the accurate answer, including the one real exception?

You just compiled a binary in your current directory and typing its name gives "command not found". Why, and what is the fix?

From a desktop terminal, what does xdg-open do that plain execution does not, and what is its portable-looking alias on some distros?

In a terminal, what is the difference between a foreground and a background job, and how do you move an already-running foreground command into the background without killing it?

Plain ps in a terminal shows only a handful of processes on a busy graphical system. Why, and what invocation lists everything?

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