function::cputime_to_string - Linux
Overview
cputime_to_string is a utility that converts a CPU time value, expressed as a fractional number of seconds, to a string representing the duration. It’s primarily used to create human-readable representations of CPU times for reporting or analysis purposes.
Syntax
cputime_to_string [OPTIONS] <CPUTIME>
Options/Flags
-f
,--format
: Specifies the output format for the CPU time. Supported formats areshort
(hh:mm:ss.cc),long
(days+hh:mm:ss.cc), andverbose
(days hours:minutes:seconds.hundreds). Default:short
-u
,--units
: Specifies the units used in the output format. Supported units arens
,us
,ms
, ands
. Default:s
-v
,--version
: Prints the version information and exits
Examples
# Convert 123.456 seconds to a short-format string
cputime_to_string 123.456
# Convert 123.456 seconds to a verbose-format string with nanosecond units
cputime_to_string -f verbose -u ns 123.456
Common Issues
- Incorrect input: Ensure the provided CPU time is a valid fractional number of seconds.
- Unsupported format: Check that the specified output format is one of the supported options:
short
,long
, orverbose
. - Unsupported units: The specified units must be one of the supported options:
ns
,us
,ms
, ors
.
Integration
cputime_to_string can be used in combination with other Linux commands to generate reports or analyze system performance. For example:
# Generate a table of CPU times for running processes
ps -eo pid,user,pcpu,cputime | sort -nrk3 | cputime_to_string -f verbose -u ms
Related Commands
- time: Runs a command and reports the elapsed real and CPU time.
- ps: Reports the status of running processes.
- top: Provides a dynamic real-time view of running processes, including CPU usage statistics.