pg_top
Version 3.6.1
Mark Wong
and a cast of ... a few
If you do not want to read this entire file, then at least read
the section at the end entitled "KNOWN PROBLEMS".
If you are having any problems getting pg_top to work, please read the
file "FAQ" *before* contacting me. Thank you.
pg_top is 'top' for PostgreSQL. It is derived from Unix Top. Similar to top,
pg_top allows you to monitor PostgreSQL processes. It also allows you to:
* View currently running SQL statement of a process.
* View query plan of a currently running SELECT statement.
* View locks held by a process.
* View user table statistics.
* View user index statistics.
CAVEAT: version 3 of pg_top has internal commands that kill and renice
processes. Although I have taken steps to insure that pg_top makes
appropriate checks with these commands, I cannot guarantee that these
internal commands are totally secure. IF YOU INSTALL pg_top SET-USER-ID
TO ROOT, YOU DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK! I realize that some operating
systems will require pg_top to run setuid root, and I will do everything
I can to make sure that pg_top is a secure setuid program.
To compile and install "pg_top", read the file "INSTALL" and follow the
directions and advice contained therein.
If you make any kind of change to "pg_top" that you feel would be
beneficial to others who use this program, or if you find and fix a bug,
please send me the change.
Be sure to read the FAQ enclosed with the distrubution. It contains
answers to the most commonly asked questions about the configuration,
installation, and operation of pg_top.
AVAILABILITY
Project home page:
http://ptop.projects.postgresql.org/
If you have mercurial, you can download the source code from SourceForge:
hg clone http://ptop.sourceforge.net/cgi-bin/hgwebdir.cgi/pg_top
KNOWN PROBLEMS:
Gnu CC
(This section left in because it's probably still valid.)
Compiling via Gnu CC continued to be the source of most of the
questions I receive. By far the most common mistake made by those
attempting to compile top with Gnu CC is out of date include files.
When the operating system is upgraded, the include files that are part
of the gcc package MUST also be updated. Gcc maintains its own
include files. Even a minor OS upgrade can involve changes to some of
the kernel's internal data structures, which are defined in include
files in "sys". pg_top is very sensitive to these changes. If you are
compiling with gcc and experience any sort of strange problems, please
make sure the include files you are using are up to date BEFORE
sending me a bug report. Look in the gcc source distribution for the
shell script "fixincludes".
MacOS X
(Selena is working on this.)
Since I don't have full time root access to a MacOS X system I cannot
provide effective support for the platform. MacOS X uses Mach, and it
is very difficult to extract accurate system and process information
from the system. It takes a lot of trial and error, along with root
access. I have included the most up-to-date version of the macosx module
in the distribution, but I do not claim that it works. If you want to
try to use it, you can configure with "./configure --with-module=macosx".
GRATITUDE
Selena Deckelmann & Gabrielle Roth, and the beer & free wi-fi at County Cork
pub in Portland, OR, USA.
LICENSE
pg_top is distributed free of charge under the same terms as the BSD
license. For an official statement, please refer to the file "LICENSE"
which should be included with the source distribution.
AUTHOR
Mark Wong
