Wmtop

Wmtop project is a Windowmaker dockapp that provides a sleek and miniature graphical interface to the cpu monitoring utility top. For developers and enthusiasts alike, compiling the application is simple. Just type 'make linux' or 'make freebsd' depending on the operating system you are using. If you don't know which one, you can easily find out using the 'uname' command.

Once you have compiled the app, installation is straightforward. If you are a superuser, all you need to do is type 'make install'. To start running wmtop, just invoke it using the command 'wmtop'. You can utilize the -display and -geometry options in the usual way.

The versatility of wmtop's command line options makes it an exceptional tool. You can use the '-s ' option to control the frequency of the sampling of the processes. If you would like to control how frequently the display is updated, use the -r option. If you want to watch only your own processes rather than all of them, use the -U option.

While running, you can switch between the display of user processes and all processes with a middle mouse click. If you want to exclude processes whose name matches a particular pattern from the list, use the -x option. For Linux users, the -m option will display physical memory usage instead of CPU, but it is not currently supported on other operating systems. While running, simply click the left mouse button to switch between CPU and memory display.

One unique feature of wmtop is its ability to execute a command when you right click on the dockapp. Use the -c '' option to make this happen. For example, you could launch a window with the real 'top' command for an even closer look at a rogue process.

Finally, you can customize the look and feel of wmtop using the -a <1..X> option. With all of these flexible options, wmtop is a great tool for keeping track of your system's processes. Give it a try with a command like 'wmtop -U -x '^wm' -c "xterm -e top"'. This command will list your own processes that are not dockapps and launch top on a right click.