CODEWITHSUNDEEP
c#.netprocess
xx77aBs
xx77aBs

Reputation: 4768

Monitor child processes of a process

I'm running .exe file using this code:

Process proc = Process.Start("c:\program.exe");
proc.WaitForExit();

If I start Stopwatch before starting the process and stop it after proc.WaitForExit(); line, I can get the time that user was using that particular program.

The problem I'm facing is that some programs (and games) use launchers - some small .exe file that usually checks something and then launches another .exe file that is actually the program/game that the user wants to run. In these cases the code above doesn't work because it returns after launcher exists.

How can I track all processes that proc runs, and wait unitl all of them are terminated?

Upvotes: 26

Views: 42221

Answers (3)

ANeves
ANeves

Reputation: 6385

Here is the solution that the asker found:

// using System.Management;
public static class ProcessExtensions
{
    public static IEnumerable<Process> GetChildProcesses(this Process process)
    {
        List<Process> children = new List<Process>();
        ManagementObjectSearcher mos = new ManagementObjectSearcher(String.Format("Select * From Win32_Process Where ParentProcessID={0}", process.Id));

        foreach (ManagementObject mo in mos.Get())
        {
            children.Add(Process.GetProcessById(Convert.ToInt32(mo["ProcessID"])));
        }

        return children;
    }
}

[Updated]

Slightly more modern code:

// using System.Management;
public static class ProcessExtensions
{
    public static IList<Process> GetChildProcesses(this Process process) 
        => new ManagementObjectSearcher(
                $"Select * From Win32_Process Where ParentProcessID={process.Id}")
            .Get()
            .Cast<ManagementObject>()
            .Select(mo =>
                Process.GetProcessById(Convert.ToInt32(mo["ProcessID"])))
            .ToList();
}

Upvotes: 36

Vadim
Vadim

Reputation: 2865

Take a look at this - Find all child processes of my own .NET process / find out if a given process is a child of my own? or http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/vstudio/en-US/d60f0793-cc92-48fb-b867-dd113dabcd5c/how-to-find-the-child-processes-associated-with-a-pid. They provide ways to find child processes by a parent PID (which you have).

You can write monitor the process you create and also get its children. You could then track everything, and wait for them all to finish. I say "try" because I'm not sure you could catch very rapid changes (a process starting others and then dying before you get his children).

Upvotes: 6

No Idea For Name
No Idea For Name

Reputation: 11597

you can't wait for process(B) another process(A) is running, if that process(A) isn't waiting for the process(B). what you can do is track the process using Process.GetProcessesByName() if you know it's name

Upvotes: 1

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