PROG(3) PROG(3) NAME prog - running programs SYNOPSIS bind #p /prog /prog/n/ctl /prog/n/dbgctl /prog/n/fd /prog/n/heap /prog/n/ns /prog/n/nsgrp /prog/n/pgrp /prog/n/stack /prog/n/status /prog/n/text /prog/n/wait ... DESCRIPTION The prog device serves a two-level directory structure. The first level contains numbered directories corresponding to pids of live Limbo processes; each such directory contains a set of files representing the corresponding process. All files operate on UTF (see utf(6)) strings. The read-only status file contains six fields, separated by a space. The fields are: the process and process group identifiers, each 8 characters right justified; the user name, at least 10 characters left justified; the process state, 10 characters left justified; the amount of memory used by the process in units of 1024 bytes, at least 5 char- acters, right justified, followed by a K; and the name of the current program module, up to 28 characters, left justi- fied. The read-only pgrp file contains the process group identi- fier, in decimal. The read-only nsgrp file contains the namespace group iden- tifier, in decimal. The read-only ns file contains an ordered set of triples, separated by a space, which describe the sys-bind(2) and mount operations used to construct the name space. The fields are: the integer flags, the to file, and the from file; see sys-bind(2). The read-only wait file may be read to recover information about the exiting children of the process. A read of wait Page 1 Plan 9 (printed 11/18/24) PROG(3) PROG(3) will block until a child of the process, created after wait was opened, exits. When such a child exits, it produces a string with three fields: the pid of the exiting process, a space, module name, enclosed in "'s, and a possibly empty error message. The error message will contain at most 64 characters. The read-only fd file describes the open file descriptors in the file descriptor group of the process. Each line describes an open file. The fields are: the file descriptor index, the open mode (r, w, rw); the type and number of the device; the path and version of the file's qid (see intro(5)); the file offset in bytes; and the name with which it was opened. Messages written to the ctl file control the execution of the process. kill Kill the process. killgrp Kill all processes in the same group as the pro- cess. A process writing to its own ctl file does not kill itself. The dbgctl file provides facilities for debugging a process. Messages written to the file control the execution of the process. step n Step the interpreter for at most n instructions, or until a breakpoint is reached. toret Step the interpreter until a return from the cur- rent activation frame or a breakpoint is reached. cont Step the interpreter until a breakpoint is reached. stop Stop the process as soon as possible. Do not allow the process to execute again until an unstop message is received. unstop Cancel the effect of any previous stop. detach Run the process without any debugging. bpt set path pc Set a breakpoint at pc for the module given by path. bpt del path pc Clear a breakpoint if one exists. Page 2 Plan 9 (printed 11/18/24) PROG(3) PROG(3) Reading dbgctl gives updates for some state transitions while the process is being debugged. Each update is termi- nated by a newline. exited The process exited without error. broken: error The process died due to error, a string with up to 64 characters. send The process is blocked sending on a channel. recv The process is blocked receiving on a channel. alt The process is blocked in an alt statement. run The process is unblocked and now ready to run. new pid The process has spawned a new process identified by pid. The read-only stack file contains the dynamic call stack trace. Each activation frame is described by one line with six fields, separated by a space: the frame pointer, program counter, module data pointer, and module code pointer, each 8 hexadecimal digits; the execution method for the module (0 means interpreted, 1 compiled); and the path name of the module. The top activation frame starts at offset 0. The heap file may be queried to examine the state of the process. A data query contains an address, a period, a for- mat character, and a count. An instruction query contains a pc, a plus, a mode address, a period, the format I, and a count. The addresses in the query may be decimal, hexadeci- mal preceded by 0x or 0X, or octal preceded by 0. Count gives the number of consecutive data items retrieved by reading heap starting at offset 0; the format varies accord- ing to the format character. All data items other than strings are terminated by a newline. W 32-bit decimal ints. B 8-bit unsigned decimal bytes. V 64-bit decimal bytes. R 64-bit reals. I Disassembled Dis instructions. P 32-bit hexadecimal address, or nil. Page 3 Plan 9 (printed 11/18/24) PROG(3) PROG(3) The following formats examine properties of specific 32-bit pointers. L Examine a list, yielding a pair of hexadecimal addresses separated by a period, giving the address of the head and tail of a list. It is an error to use L on nil. A Examine an array, yielding a decimal length, a period, and the address of the 0th element of an array, or nil. C Examine a string, yielding the decimal length in characters, a period, and the utf(6) representa- tion of the string. The text file is currently unimplemented. SOURCE /emu/devprog.c /os/port/devprog.c Page 4 Plan 9 (printed 11/18/24)