Re: [i3] How to display in `i3bar` (via `i3status`) the amount of free memory

[Valentin Rusu]

* Ciprian Dorin Craciun  [2015-09-16 15:22:50 +0300]:

> On Wed, Sep 16, 2015 at 2:26 PM, Michael Stapelberg  wrote:
> > The recommended way is to wrap i3status as described in its manpage.
> 

I'm using i3blocks without problems. Just give it a try, perhaps it'll
suit your needs.


-- 
Valentin Rusu
IRC: valir

Re: [i3] How to display in `i3bar` (via `i3status`) the amount of free memory

[Jeff Jibson]

On Wed, Sep 16, 2015 at 6:22 AM, Ciprian Dorin Craciun <
ciprian.crac...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Wed, Sep 16, 2015 at 2:26 PM, Michael Stapelberg 
wrote:
> > The recommended way is to wrap i3status as described in its manpage.
>
> The whole purpose of `i3status` is that it's lightweight both in terms
> of resources and OS calls.  Wrapping it in a script that each second
> spawns a bunch of processes just to add memory usage is counter to its
> purpose...
>
> ...


>
> However I would like to ask the developers to please reconsider adding
> such a basic and useful piece of information.  (But as said I'll live
> this here.)
>
> Thanks for i3,
> Ciprian.


There are several alternatives to i3status.  I haven't had time to try any
of them.  I have been using conky for years, so I use it.

In my config file I have:

bar {
output HDMI1
tray_outputHDMI1
status_command conky -c ~/.i3/conkyrc.left
mode   dock
position   bottom
workspace_buttons  yes
font   $font

colors {
background $root
statusline $foreground
focused_workspace  $foreground $focused   $foreground
active_workspace   $foreground $active$foreground
inactive_workspace $foreground $unfocused $foreground
urgent_workspace   $urgentfg   $urgentbg  $urgentfg
}
}

I have two monitors.  Both conky files have the following settings at the
top of the file:

background no
use_xft yes
out_to_console yes
out_to_x no
update_interval 2
total_run_times 0
double_buffer yes
border_inner_margin 0
border_outer_margin 0
use_spacer none
if_up_strictness address
short_units yes

In file for my left monitor I have:

TEXT
BKK ${tztime UTC-7 %T} \
 CCSD ${tztime PST8PDT %T} \
 PT-0{1,2,3} ${tztime MST7MDT %T}|\
en01 ${addr eno1} ${downspeed eno1} ${upspeed eno1}  \
 ${if_up tun0}  tun0 ${addr tun0} ${downspeed tun0} ${upspeed tun0}
 ${endif} \
 port ${tcp_portmon 1 65535 count}|\
$nodename ($kernel) $uptime \
 ${time %F %T}

In the file for the right monitor I have:

TEXT
CLP $cpu=${cpu cpu0}+${cpu cpu1} \
 $loadavg \
 $running_processes / $processes|\
MS $mem/$memmax ($memperc%) \
 $swap/$swapmax ($swapperc%)|\
D / ${fs_used /}/${fs_size /}|\
G ${execi 50 if pgrep sandbox > /dev/null ; then genlop -cn | grep
'Currently merging'  ; else echo -n Las Sync: ; ~/.i3/lastsync.sh ; fi}
 |\
HKUT $nodename ($kernel) $uptime \
 ${time %T}

Some of this is specific to gentoo and needs gentools.

Re: [i3] How to display in `i3bar` (via `i3status`) the amount of free memory

[Michael Stapelberg]

On Wed, Sep 16, 2015 at 2:22 PM, Ciprian Dorin Craciun
 wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 16, 2015 at 2:26 PM, Michael Stapelberg  wrote:
>> The recommended way is to wrap i3status as described in its manpage.
>
> The whole purpose of `i3status` is that it's lightweight both in terms
> of resources and OS calls.  Wrapping it in a script that each second
> spawns a bunch of processes just to add memory usage is counter to its
> purpose...

You can use a higher-level language to wrap i3status.

>
> But anyway, as this is an open-source project where development is
> done voluntarily (and for free), and as I don't have time right now to
> patch it, I'll live it at this...  (Moreover as with the previous
> patches there is a high chance the patch won't be accepted in
> upstream, leaving me to maintain my own fork of it, which I have even
> less time for...)  :)
>
> However I would like to ask the developers to please reconsider adding
> such a basic and useful piece of information.  (But as said I'll live
> this here.)

We don’t have a great mental framework for deciding what goes into
i3status and what doesn’t. The current state of affairs is that things
that I deemed useful 7 years ago (wow, time flies) are in i3status,
and we’re very conservative when it comes to adding new things (or
even removing things that I wouldn’t add if I were to start from
scratch, like cpu temperature).

Other status bars (j4status, py3status, etc.) might be better suited
for your use-case.

-- 
Best regards,
Michael

Re: [i3] How to display in `i3bar` (via `i3status`) the amount of free memory

[Axel Wagner]

Ciprian Dorin Craciun  writes:
> The whole purpose of `i3status` is that it's lightweight both in terms
> of resources and OS calls.  Wrapping it in a script that each second
> spawns a bunch of processes just to add memory usage is counter to its
> purpose...

Just in case you are using i3bar in hide mode: In that case i3bar will
SIGSTOP i3status anyway, when the bar isn't shown, so this won't be a
huge problem. :) If you use it in docked mode of course, you are kind of
out of luck with this.