GetPID.c

/*
    File:       GetPID.c
    
    Description:    This file provides a simple API to do process PID lookup based on process name.
    
    Author:     Chad Jones 
 
    Copyright:  © Copyright 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.
    
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*/
 
#include "GetPID.h"
 
#include <errno.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <sys/sysctl.h>
 
/*****************************************************
 * GetAllPIDsForProcessName
 *****************************************************
 * Purpose:  This functions purpose is to lookup a BSD
 * process PID given the BSD process name.  This function may
 * potentially return multiple PIDs for a given BSD process name
 * since several processes can have the same BSD process name.
 *
 * Parameters:
 *  ProcessName     A constant C-string.  On calling
 * GetAllPIDsForProcessName this variable holds the BSD process name
 * used to do the process lookup.  Note that the process name you need
 * to pass is the name of the BSD executable process.  If trying
 * to find the PID of an regular OSX application you will need to pass the
 * name of the actual BSD executable inside an application bundle (rather
 * than the bundle name itself).  In any case as a user you can find the
 * BSD process name of any process (including OSX applications) by
 * typing the command "ps -axcocommand,pid" in terminal.
 *
 *  ArrayOfReturnedPIDs A pointer to a pre-allocated array of pid_t.
 * On calling GetAllPIDsForProcessName this variable must be a pointer to a
 * pre-allocated array of pid_t whos length (in number of pid_t entries) is defined
 * in ArrayOfPIDsLength.  On successful return from GetAllPIDsForProcessName
 * this array will hold the PIDs of all processes which have a matching process
 * name to that specified in the ProcessName input variable.  The number of actual
 * PIDs entered in the array starting at index zero will be the value returned
 * in NumberOfMatchesFound.  On failed return if the error is a buffer overflow
 * error then the buffer will be filled to the  max with PIDs which matched.
 * Otherwise on failed return the state of the array will be undefined.  Note
 * the returned PID array is not sorted and is listed in order of process encountered.  
 *
 *  NumberOfPossiblePIDsInArray A unsigned integer.  On calling
 * GetAllPIDsForProcessName this variable will hold the number of
 * pre-allocated PID entries which are in the ArrayOfReturnedPIDs for this functions
 * use.  Note this value must have a value greater than zero.
 *
 *  NumberOfMatchesFound    An unsigned integer.  On calling GetAllPIDsForProcessName
 * this variable will point to a pre-allocated unsigned integer.  On return from
 * GetAllPIDsForProcessName this variable will contain the number of PIDs contained in the
 * ArrayOfReturnedPIDs.  On failed return the value of the variable will be undefined.
 *
 *  SysctlError A pointer to a pre-allocated integer.  On failed return, this
 * variable represents the error returned from the sysctl command.  On function
 * success this variable will have a value specified by the sysctl based on the
 * error that occurred.  On success the variable will have the value zero.
 * Note this variable can also be NULL in which case the variable is ignored.
 *
 *  *Function Result*   A integer return value.
 *              See result codes listed below.
 *      Result Codes:
 *        0         Success.  A set of process PIDs were found and are located in
 *              ArrayOfReturnedPIDs array.
 *       -1     Could not find a process with a matching process name
 *                              (i.e. process not found).
 *       -2     Invalid arguments passed.
 *       -3         Unable to get the size of sysctl buffer required
 *              (consult SysctlError return value for more information)
 *       -4         Unable to allocate memory to store BSD process information
 *              (consult SysctlError return value for more information)
 *       -5         The array passed to hold the returned PIDs is not large enough
 *              to hold all PIDs of process with matching names.
 *
 *****************************************************/
int GetAllPIDsForProcessName(const char* ProcessName, 
                             pid_t ArrayOfReturnedPIDs[], 
                             const unsigned int NumberOfPossiblePIDsInArray, 
                             unsigned int* NumberOfMatchesFound,
                             int* SysctlError)
{
    // --- Defining local variables for this function and initializing all to zero --- //
    int mib[6] = {0,0,0,0,0,0}; //used for sysctl call.
    int SuccessfullyGotProcessInformation;
    size_t sizeOfBufferRequired = 0; //set to zero to start with.
    int error = 0;
    long NumberOfRunningProcesses = 0;
    unsigned int Counter = 0;
    struct kinfo_proc* BSDProcessInformationStructure = NULL;
    pid_t CurrentExaminedProcessPID = 0;
    char* CurrentExaminedProcessName = NULL;
 
    // --- Checking input arguments for validity --- //
    if (ProcessName == NULL) //need valid process name
    {
        return(kInvalidArgumentsError);
    }
 
    if (ArrayOfReturnedPIDs == NULL) //need an actual array
    {
        return(kInvalidArgumentsError);
    }
 
    if (NumberOfPossiblePIDsInArray <= 0)
    {
        //length of the array must be larger than zero.
        return(kInvalidArgumentsError);
    }
 
    if (NumberOfMatchesFound == NULL) //need an integer for return.
    {
        return(kInvalidArgumentsError);
    }
    
 
    //--- Setting return values to known values --- //
 
    //initalizing PID array so all values are zero
    memset(ArrayOfReturnedPIDs, 0, NumberOfPossiblePIDsInArray * sizeof(pid_t));
        
    *NumberOfMatchesFound = 0; //no matches found yet
 
    if (SysctlError != NULL) //only set sysctlError if it is present
    {
        *SysctlError = 0;
    }
 
    //--- Getting list of process information for all processes --- //
    
    /* Setting up the mib (Management Information Base) which is an array of integers where each
    * integer specifies how the data will be gathered.  Here we are setting the MIB
    * block to lookup the information on all the BSD processes on the system.  Also note that
    * every regular application has a recognized BSD process accociated with it.  We pass
    * CTL_KERN, KERN_PROC, KERN_PROC_ALL to sysctl as the MIB to get back a BSD structure with
    * all BSD process information for all processes in it (including BSD process names)
    */
    mib[0] = CTL_KERN;
    mib[1] = KERN_PROC;
    mib[2] = KERN_PROC_ALL;
 
    /* Here we have a loop set up where we keep calling sysctl until we finally get an unrecoverable error
    * (and we return) or we finally get a succesful result.  Note with how dynamic the process list can
    * be you can expect to have a failure here and there since the process list can change between
    * getting the size of buffer required and the actually filling that buffer.
    */
    SuccessfullyGotProcessInformation = FALSE;
    
    while (SuccessfullyGotProcessInformation == FALSE)
    {
        /* Now that we have the MIB for looking up process information we will pass it to sysctl to get the 
        * information we want on BSD processes.  However, before we do this we must know the size of the buffer to 
        * allocate to accomidate the return value.  We can get the size of the data to allocate also using the 
        * sysctl command.  In this case we call sysctl with the proper arguments but specify no return buffer 
        * specified (null buffer).  This is a special case which causes sysctl to return the size of buffer required.
        *
        * First Argument: The MIB which is really just an array of integers.  Each integer is a constant
        *     representing what information to gather from the system.  Check out the man page to know what
        *     constants sysctl will work with.  Here of course we pass our MIB block which was passed to us.
        * Second Argument: The number of constants in the MIB (array of integers).  In this case there are three.
        * Third Argument: The output buffer where the return value from sysctl will be stored.  In this case
        *     we don't want anything return yet since we don't yet know the size of buffer needed.  Thus we will
        *     pass null for the buffer to begin with.
        * Forth Argument: The size of the output buffer required.  Since the buffer itself is null we can just
        *     get the buffer size needed back from this call.
        * Fifth Argument: The new value we want the system data to have.  Here we don't want to set any system
        *     information we only want to gather it.  Thus, we pass null as the buffer so sysctl knows that 
        *     we have no desire to set the value.
        * Sixth Argument: The length of the buffer containing new information (argument five).  In this case
        *     argument five was null since we didn't want to set the system value.  Thus, the size of the buffer
        *     is zero or NULL.
        * Return Value: a return value indicating success or failure.  Actually, sysctl will either return
        *     zero on no error and -1 on error.  The errno UNIX variable will be set on error.
        */ 
        error = sysctl(mib, 3, NULL, &sizeOfBufferRequired, NULL, NULL);
 
        /* If an error occurred then return the accociated error.  The error itself actually is stored in the UNIX 
        * errno variable.  We can access the errno value using the errno global variable.  We will return the 
        * errno value as the sysctlError return value from this function.
        */
        if (error != 0) 
        {
            if (SysctlError != NULL)
            {
                *SysctlError = errno;  //we only set this variable if the pre-allocated variable is given
            } 
 
            return(kErrorGettingSizeOfBufferRequired);
        }
    
        /* Now we successful obtained the size of the buffer required for the sysctl call.  This is stored in the 
        * SizeOfBufferRequired variable.  We will malloc a buffer of that size to hold the sysctl result.
        */
        BSDProcessInformationStructure = (struct kinfo_proc*) malloc(sizeOfBufferRequired);
 
        if (BSDProcessInformationStructure == NULL)
        {
            if (SysctlError != NULL)
            {
                *SysctlError = ENOMEM;  //we only set this variable if the pre-allocated variable is given
            } 
 
            return(kUnableToAllocateMemoryForBuffer); //unrecoverable error (no memory available) so give up
        }
    
        /* Now we have the buffer of the correct size to hold the result we can now call sysctl
        * and get the process information.  
        *
        * First Argument: The MIB for gathering information on running BSD processes.  The MIB is really 
        *     just an array of integers.  Each integer is a constant representing what information to 
        *     gather from the system.  Check out the man page to know what constants sysctl will work with.  
        * Second Argument: The number of constants in the MIB (array of integers).  In this case there are three.
        * Third Argument: The output buffer where the return value from sysctl will be stored.  This is the buffer
        *     which we allocated specifically for this purpose.  
        * Forth Argument: The size of the output buffer (argument three).  In this case its the size of the 
        *     buffer we already allocated.  
        * Fifth Argument: The buffer containing the value to set the system value to.  In this case we don't
        *     want to set any system information we only want to gather it.  Thus, we pass null as the buffer
        *     so sysctl knows that we have no desire to set the value.
        * Sixth Argument: The length of the buffer containing new information (argument five).  In this case
        *     argument five was null since we didn't want to set the system value.  Thus, the size of the buffer
        *     is zero or NULL.
        * Return Value: a return value indicating success or failure.  Actually, sysctl will either return 
        *     zero on no error and -1 on error.  The errno UNIX variable will be set on error.
        */ 
        error = sysctl(mib, 3, BSDProcessInformationStructure, &sizeOfBufferRequired, NULL, NULL);
    
        //Here we successfully got the process information.  Thus set the variable to end this sysctl calling loop
        if (error == 0)
        {
            SuccessfullyGotProcessInformation = TRUE;
        }
        else 
        {
            /* failed getting process information we will try again next time around the loop.  Note this is caused
            * by the fact the process list changed between getting the size of the buffer and actually filling
            * the buffer (something which will happen from time to time since the process list is dynamic).
            * Anyways, the attempted sysctl call failed.  We will now begin again by freeing up the allocated 
            * buffer and starting again at the beginning of the loop.
            */
            free(BSDProcessInformationStructure); 
        }
    }//end while loop
 
    // --- Going through process list looking for processes with matching names --- //
 
    /* Now that we have the BSD structure describing the running processes we will parse it for the desired
     * process name.  First we will the number of running processes.  We can determine
     * the number of processes running because there is a kinfo_proc structure for each process.
     */
    NumberOfRunningProcesses = sizeOfBufferRequired / sizeof(struct kinfo_proc);  
    
    /* Now we will go through each process description checking to see if the process name matches that
     * passed to us.  The BSDProcessInformationStructure has an array of kinfo_procs.  Each kinfo_proc has
     * an extern_proc accociated with it in the kp_proc attribute.  Each extern_proc (kp_proc) has the process name
     * of the process accociated with it in the p_comm attribute and the PID of that process in the p_pid attibute.
     * We test the process name by compairing the process name passed to us with the value in the p_comm value.
     * Note we limit the compairison to MAXCOMLEN which is the maximum length of a BSD process name which is used
     * by the system. 
     */
    for (Counter = 0 ; Counter < NumberOfRunningProcesses ; Counter++)
    {
        //Getting PID of process we are examining
        CurrentExaminedProcessPID = BSDProcessInformationStructure[Counter].kp_proc.p_pid; 
    
        //Getting name of process we are examining
        CurrentExaminedProcessName = BSDProcessInformationStructure[Counter].kp_proc.p_comm; 
        
        if ((CurrentExaminedProcessPID > 0) //Valid PID
           && ((strncmp(CurrentExaminedProcessName, ProcessName, MAXCOMLEN) == 0))) //name matches
        {   
            // --- Got a match add it to the array if possible --- //
            if ((*NumberOfMatchesFound + 1) > NumberOfPossiblePIDsInArray)
            {
                //if we overran the array buffer passed we release the allocated buffer give an error.
                free(BSDProcessInformationStructure);
                return(kPIDBufferOverrunError);
            }
        
            //adding the value to the array.
            ArrayOfReturnedPIDs[*NumberOfMatchesFound] = CurrentExaminedProcessPID;
            
            //incrementing our number of matches found.
            *NumberOfMatchesFound = *NumberOfMatchesFound + 1;
        }
    }//end looking through process list
 
    free(BSDProcessInformationStructure); //done with allocated buffer so release.
 
    if (*NumberOfMatchesFound == 0)
    {
        //didn't find any matches return error.
        return(kCouldNotFindRequestedProcess);
    }
    else
    {
        //found matches return success.
        return(kSuccess);
    }
}
 
/*****************************************************
 * GetPIDForProcessName
 *****************************************************
 * Purpose:  A convience call for GetAllPIDsForProcessName().
 * This function looks up a process PID given a BSD process 
 * name.  
 *
 * Parameters:
 *  ProcessName     A constant C-string.  On calling
 * GetPIDForProcessName this variable holds the BSD process name
 * used to do the process lookup.  Note that the process name you need
 * to pass is the name of the BSD executable process.  If trying
 * to find the PID of an regular OSX application you will need to pass the
 * name of the actual BSD executable inside an application bundle (rather
 * than the bundle name itself).  In any case as a user you can find the
 * BSD process name of any process (including OSX applications) by
 * typing the command "ps -axcocommand,pid" in terminal.
 *
 *  *Function Result*   A integer return value.
 *              See result codes listed below.
 *      Result Codes:
 *        >0        Success.  The value returned is the PID of the 
 *              matching process.
 *       -1     Error getting PID for requested process.  This error can
 *              be caused by several things.  One is if no such process exists.
 *              Another is if more than one process has the given name.  The
 *              thing to do here is to call GetAllPIDsForProcessName()
 *              for complete error code or to get PIDs if there are multiple
 *              processes with that name.
 *****************************************************/
int GetPIDForProcessName(const char* ProcessName)
{
    pid_t PIDArray[1] = {0};
    int Error = 0;
    int NumberOfMatches = 0;  
 
   /* Here we are calling the function GetAllPIDsForProcessName which wil give us the PIDs
    * of the process name we pass.  Of course here we are hoping for a single PID return.
    * First Argument: The BSD process name of the process we want to lookup.  In this case the
    *   the process name passed to us.
    * Second Argument: A preallocated array of pid_t.  This is where the PIDs of matching processes
    *   will be placed on return.  We pass the array we just allocated which is length one.
    * Third Argument: The number of pid_t entries located in the array of pid_t (argument 2).  In this
    *   case our array has one pid_t entry so pass one.
    * Forth Argument: On return this will hold the number of PIDs placed into the 
    *   pid_t array (array passed in argument 2).
    * Fifth Argument: Passing NULL to ignore this argument.
    * Return Value: An error indicating success (zero result) or failure (non-zero).
    *   
    */
    Error = GetAllPIDsForProcessName(ProcessName, PIDArray, 1, &NumberOfMatches, NULL);
    
    if ((Error == 0) && (NumberOfMatches == 1))//success!  
    {
        return((int) PIDArray[0]); //return the one PID we found.
    }
    else 
    {
        return(-1);
    }
}


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