Re: Information on gtop/gnome-system-monitor memory maps for docs

[Telsa Gwynne <hobbit aloss ukuu org uk>]

On Sun, Sep 22, 2002 at 03:38:58PM -0400 or thereabouts, Bill Day wrote:
> The memory maps table of gnome-system-monitor contains the following
> columns: VM Start, VM End, Flags, VM Offset, Device, Inode. This
> information actually predates gnome-system-monitor, and is mostly used
> only by deep-dyed hacker types.  While I suppose that anyone who would
> actually need it would know what these cryptic numbers signify already,
> I would like to include a short explanation in the docs if possible. If
> anyone can point me toward a resource that will explain what these
> things actually refer to, I will include the information in my imminent
> update.  

I think I have -some- of these from when I wrote up gtop. Even
if half of it never made it in. 

Be warned that some of these are a sod: memory management appears
to differ drastically between Linux, the BSDs, Solaris and the
rest. (tmpfs was a particular bugbear of mine: I'm sure it has
a technical reason for existing, but I came to think it was "to
plague documentors and to allow ageing hackers to reminisce about
how to use it to bring systems to a halt" :)) I seem to recall
that in the process information for gtop, 'resident' actually
gave you different things for Linux and for Solaris and BSDs:
it counted different things, I mean.

I really yearned for entities of "os-specific" or "solaris-specific",
"linux-specific" etc at times.  (I still do, come to think of it;
the idea that if you were on a Linux box it would say "means this"
and if you were on a BSD box it would say a different "means this"
sounded really neat. Only, of course, then when you read the docs
on working box to trouble-shoot non-working box, it gets more
problematic.)

I shall dig them out, along with what one of the Linux hackers
heavily into this stuff said I had to watch out for when explaining.
(That was Rik van Riel, who read the thing about three times
before it even got to docs-list: he's very helpful.) 

But I am a bit behind with email right now; may be a few days.
Please remind me if you don't get it in a week.

Telsa