Which command is commonly used to identify resource-hungry processes on Linux?

Which command is commonly used to identify resource-hungry processes on Linux?

• A. ls -l
• B. cat /etc/os-release
• C. ifconfig
• D. top or htop and ps with sorting by cpu/mem

Answer: (D)

Identifying resource-hungry processes involves listing running processes with their CPU and memory usage in real time or in a sortable snapshot. Top provides a live, updating view of processes, usually sorted by CPU by default, and you can switch to memory to see the biggest RAM users. Htop offers the same idea with a more user-friendly interface and easier sorting, allowing you to sort by CPU or memory and inspect details. For scripted checks or one-off reports, ps can output a single snapshot of processes with fields for CPU and memory usage and can be sorted by those values using --sort (for example, by -pcpu or -pmem). These tools focus on per-process resource usage, so they’re the practical way to identify which processes are consuming the most CPU or memory. Other commands like ls -l, cat /etc/os-release, or ifconfig don’t reveal per-process resource consumption.

Identifying resource-hungry processes involves listing running processes with their CPU and memory usage in real time or in a sortable snapshot. Top provides a live, updating view of processes, usually sorted by CPU by default, and you can switch to memory to see the biggest RAM users. Htop offers the same idea with a more user-friendly interface and easier sorting, allowing you to sort by CPU or memory and inspect details. For scripted checks or one-off reports, ps can output a single snapshot of processes with fields for CPU and memory usage and can be sorted by those values using --sort (for example, by -pcpu or -pmem). These tools focus on per-process resource usage, so they’re the practical way to identify which processes are consuming the most CPU or memory. Other commands like ls -l, cat /etc/os-release, or ifconfig don’t reveal per-process resource consumption.