Process.BasePriority Property

Definition

Gets the base priority of the associated process.

public:
 property int BasePriority { int get(); };
public int BasePriority { get; }
member this.BasePriority : int
Public ReadOnly Property BasePriority As Integer

Property Value

The base priority, which is computed from the PriorityClass of the associated process.

Exceptions

The process has exited.

-or-

The process has not started, so there is no process ID.

Examples

The following example starts an instance of Notepad. The example then retrieves and displays various properties of the associated process. The example detects when the process exits, and displays the process's exit code.

#using <system.dll>

using namespace System;
using namespace System::Diagnostics;
int main()
{
   
   // Define variables to track the peak
   // memory usage of the process.
   _int64 peakPagedMem = 0,peakWorkingSet = 0,peakVirtualMem = 0;
   Process^ myProcess = nullptr;
   try
   {
      
      // Start the process.
      myProcess = Process::Start( "NotePad.exe" );
      
      // Display the process statistics until
      // the user closes the program.
      do
      {
         if (  !myProcess->HasExited )
         {
            
            // Refresh the current process property values.
            myProcess->Refresh();
            Console::WriteLine();
            
            // Display current process statistics.
            Console::WriteLine( "{0} -", myProcess );
            Console::WriteLine( "-------------------------------------" );
            Console::WriteLine( "  physical memory usage: {0}", myProcess->WorkingSet64 );
            Console::WriteLine( "  base priority: {0}", myProcess->BasePriority );
            Console::WriteLine( "  priority class: {0}", myProcess->PriorityClass );
            Console::WriteLine( "  user processor time: {0}", myProcess->UserProcessorTime );
            Console::WriteLine( "  privileged processor time: {0}", myProcess->PrivilegedProcessorTime );
            Console::WriteLine( "  total processor time: {0}", myProcess->TotalProcessorTime );
            Console::WriteLine("  PagedSystemMemorySize64: {0}", myProcess->PagedSystemMemorySize64);
            Console::WriteLine("  PagedMemorySize64: {0}", myProcess->PagedMemorySize64);
            
            // Update the values for the overall peak memory statistics.
            peakPagedMem = myProcess->PeakPagedMemorySize64;
            peakVirtualMem = myProcess->PeakVirtualMemorySize64;
            peakWorkingSet = myProcess->PeakWorkingSet64;
            if ( myProcess->Responding )
            {
               Console::WriteLine( "Status = Running" );
            }
            else
            {
               Console::WriteLine( "Status = Not Responding" );
            }
         }
      }
      while (  !myProcess->WaitForExit( 1000 ) );
      Console::WriteLine();
      Console::WriteLine( "Process exit code: {0}", myProcess->ExitCode );
      
      // Display peak memory statistics for the process.
      Console::WriteLine( "Peak physical memory usage of the process: {0}", peakWorkingSet );
      Console::WriteLine( "Peak paged memory usage of the process: {0}", peakPagedMem );
      Console::WriteLine( "Peak virtual memory usage of the process: {0}", peakVirtualMem );
   }
   finally
   {
      if ( myProcess != nullptr )
      {
         myProcess->Close();
      }
   }

}
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;

namespace ProcessSample
{
    class ProcessMonitorSample
    {
        public static void Main()
        {
            // Define variables to track the peak
            // memory usage of the process.
            long peakPagedMem   = 0,
                 peakWorkingSet = 0,
                 peakVirtualMem = 0;

            // Start the process.
            using (Process myProcess = Process.Start("NotePad.exe"))
            {
                // Display the process statistics until
                // the user closes the program.
                do
                {
                    if (!myProcess.HasExited)
                    {
                        // Refresh the current process property values.
                        myProcess.Refresh();

                        Console.WriteLine();

                        // Display current process statistics.

                        Console.WriteLine($"{myProcess} -");
                        Console.WriteLine("-------------------------------------");

                        Console.WriteLine($"  Physical memory usage     : {myProcess.WorkingSet64}");
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Base priority             : {myProcess.BasePriority}");
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Priority class            : {myProcess.PriorityClass}");
                        Console.WriteLine($"  User processor time       : {myProcess.UserProcessorTime}");
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Privileged processor time : {myProcess.PrivilegedProcessorTime}");
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Total processor time      : {myProcess.TotalProcessorTime}");
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Paged system memory size  : {myProcess.PagedSystemMemorySize64}");
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Paged memory size         : {myProcess.PagedMemorySize64}");

                        // Update the values for the overall peak memory statistics.
                        peakPagedMem   = myProcess.PeakPagedMemorySize64;
                        peakVirtualMem = myProcess.PeakVirtualMemorySize64;
                        peakWorkingSet = myProcess.PeakWorkingSet64;

                        if (myProcess.Responding)
                        {
                            Console.WriteLine("Status = Running");
                        }
                        else
                        {
                            Console.WriteLine("Status = Not Responding");
                        }
                    }
                }
                while (!myProcess.WaitForExit(1000));

                Console.WriteLine();
                Console.WriteLine($"  Process exit code          : {myProcess.ExitCode}");

                // Display peak memory statistics for the process.
                Console.WriteLine($"  Peak physical memory usage : {peakWorkingSet}");
                Console.WriteLine($"  Peak paged memory usage    : {peakPagedMem}");
                Console.WriteLine($"  Peak virtual memory usage  : {peakVirtualMem}");
            }
        }
    }
}
Imports System.Diagnostics

Namespace ProcessSample
    Class ProcessMonitorSample

        Public Shared Sub Main()

            ' Define variables to track the peak
            ' memory usage of the process.
            Dim peakPagedMem As Long = 0
            Dim peakWorkingSet As Long = 0
            Dim peakVirtualMem As Long = 0

            ' Start the process.
            Using myProcess = Process.Start("NotePad.exe")

                ' Display process statistics until
                ' the user closes the program.
                Do

                    If Not myProcess.HasExited Then

                        ' Refresh the current process property values.
                        myProcess.Refresh()

                        Console.WriteLine()

                        ' Display current process statistics.

                        Console.WriteLine($"{myProcess} -")
                        Console.WriteLine("-------------------------------------")

                        Console.WriteLine($"  Physical memory usage     : {myProcess.WorkingSet64}")
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Base priority             : {myProcess.BasePriority}")
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Priority class            : {myProcess.PriorityClass}")
                        Console.WriteLine($"  User processor time       : {myProcess.UserProcessorTime}")
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Privileged processor time : {myProcess.PrivilegedProcessorTime}")
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Total processor time      : {myProcess.TotalProcessorTime}")
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Paged system memory size  : {myProcess.PagedSystemMemorySize64}")
                        Console.WriteLine($"  Paged memory size         : {myProcess.PagedMemorySize64}")

                        ' Update the values for the overall peak memory statistics.
                        peakPagedMem = myProcess.PeakPagedMemorySize64
                        peakVirtualMem = myProcess.PeakVirtualMemorySize64
                        peakWorkingSet = myProcess.PeakWorkingSet64

                        If myProcess.Responding Then
                            Console.WriteLine("Status = Running")
                        Else
                            Console.WriteLine("Status = Not Responding")
                        End If
                    End If
                Loop While Not myProcess.WaitForExit(1000)

                Console.WriteLine()
                Console.WriteLine($"  Process exit code                         : {myProcess.ExitCode}")

                ' Display peak memory statistics for the process.
                Console.WriteLine($"  Peak physical memory usage of the process : {peakWorkingSet}")
                Console.WriteLine($"  Peak paged memory usage of the process    : {peakPagedMem}")
                Console.WriteLine($"  Peak virtual memory usage of the process  : {peakVirtualMem}")
            End Using
        End Sub
    End Class
End Namespace

Remarks

The value returned by this property represents the most recently refreshed base priority of the process. To get the most up to date base priority, you need to call Refresh() method first.

The BasePriority of the process is the starting priority for threads created within the associated process. You can view information about the base priority through the System Monitor's Priority Base counter.

Based on the time elapsed or other boosts, the operating system can change the base priority when a process should be placed ahead of others.

The BasePriority property lets you view the starting priority assigned to a process. However, because it is read-only, you cannot use the BasePriority to set the priority of the process. To change the priority, use the PriorityClass property. The BasePriority is viewable using the System Monitor, while the PriorityClass is not. Both the BasePriority and the PriorityClass can be viewed programmatically. The following table shows the relationship between BasePriority values and PriorityClass values.

BasePriority PriorityClass
4 Idle
8 Normal
13 High
24 RealTime

Applies to

See also