SysInfo Library in C

Author: Amin Tahmasebi
Release Date: 2024
License: ISC License

Overview

The SysInfo library provides a set of functions for retrieving detailed information about the operating system and hardware of a machine. It is designed to work on both Windows and Linux systems, though it is not compatible with macOS. The library is lightweight and easy to integrate into C projects, offering developers essential system details such as OS version, kernel type, CPU architecture, and more.

Installation and Compilation

To use this library, include sysinfo.h in your project and compile the source files with your C compiler. Here is an example using GCC:

gcc -std=c17 -O3 -march=native -flto -funroll-loops -Wall -Wextra -pedantic -s -o main ./main.c ./sysinfo/sysinfo.c

Documentation

The SysInfo library offers a variety of functions to gather information about the system it is running on. Below is a detailed description of each function provided by the library.

Function Descriptions

• char* sysinfo_product_version():

  • Returns the version of the operating system as a string. If the version cannot be determined, it returns "unknown".
  • Example (Linux): "24.04"
  • Example (Windows): "10.0"

• char* sysinfo_product_type():

  • Returns the product name of the operating system. On Linux, it retrieves the distribution name; on Windows, it returns "Windows".
  • Example (Linux): "Ubuntu"
  • Example (Windows): "Windows"

• char* sysinfo_kernel_version():

  • Returns the version of the operating system kernel. This is equivalent to the output of uname -r on Linux.
  • Example (Linux): "6.8.0-35-generic"
  • Example (Windows): "10.0.19045"

• char* sysinfo_kernel_type():

  • Returns the type of the kernel, such as "Linux" or "Windows NT". This corresponds to the output of uname -s on Unix-like systems.
  • Example (Linux): "Linux"
  • Example (Windows): "Windows NT"

• char* sysinfo_boot_unique_id():

  • Returns a unique ID for the current boot session. On Linux, this ID is read from /proc/sys/kernel/random/boot_id. On Windows, it is derived from the system uptime using GetTickCount64().
  • Example (Linux): "bba30543-fea2-4477-b9e4-5343f8746200"
  • Example (Windows): "22066640"

• char* sysinfo_cpu_architecture():

  • Returns the CPU architecture of the system. This could be values like "x86_64", "ARM", etc.
  • Example (Linux/Windows): "x86_64"

• char* sysinfo_machine_host_name():

  • Returns the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the machine if available. If no FQDN is available, it returns the hostname.
  • Example (Linux): "kaisen-VirtualBox"
  • Example (Windows): "DESKTOP-DF2A2F9"

• char* sysinfo_machine_unique_id():

  • Returns a unique identifier for the machine. This ID is persistent across reboots and is usually derived from /etc/machine-id on Linux or the Windows registry.
  • Example (Linux): "4229c1dd3d8c41e1a7b9e1102912cde3"
  • Example (Windows): "8ba376a1-9832-45a0-b7bd-5d507e7a1d68"

• char* sysinfo_pretty_product_name():

  • Returns a user-friendly string representing the operating system name and version.
  • Example (Linux): "Ubuntu 24.04"
  • Example (Windows): "Windows 10 Version 10.0 (Build 19045)"

• char** sysinfo_list_bluetooth_devices(int* count):

  • Returns a list of Bluetooth devices currently connected or known to the system. The number of devices is returned via the count parameter. This function is not guaranteed to work on all systems and is primarily implemented for Linux and Windows.
  • Example (Linux/Windows): List of Bluetooth device names.

Examples

The following examples demonstrate how to use the SysInfo library in various scenarios.

Example 1: Get OS Version

#include "fmt/fmt.h"
#include "sysinfo/sysinfo.h"

int main() {
    fmt_printf("OS Version: %s\n", sysinfo_product_version());
    return 0;
}

Output on Linux:

OS Version: 24.04

Output on Windows:

OS Version: 10.0

Example 2: Get Product Type

#include "fmt/fmt.h"
#include "sysinfo/sysinfo.h"

int main() {
    fmt_printf("OS Product Type: %s\n", sysinfo_product_type());
    return 0;
}

Output on Linux:

OS Product Type: Ubuntu

Output on Windows:

OS Product Type: Windows

Example 3: Get Kernel Version

#include "fmt/fmt.h"
#include "sysinfo/sysinfo.h"

int main() {
    fmt_printf("Kernel Version: %s\n", sysinfo_kernel_version());
    return 0;
}

Output on Linux:

Kernel Version: 6.8.0-35-generic

Output on Windows:

Kernel Version: 10.0.19045

Example 4: Get Kernel Type

#include "fmt/fmt.h"
#include "sysinfo/sysinfo.h"

int main() {
    fmt_printf("Kernel Type: %s\n", sysinfo_kernel_type());
    return 0;
}

Output on Linux:

Kernel Type: Linux

Output on Windows:

Kernel Type: Windows NT

Example 5: Get Boot Unique ID

#include "fmt/fmt.h"
#include "sysinfo/sysinfo.h"

int main() {
    fmt_printf("Boot Unique ID: %s\n", sysinfo_boot_unique_id());
    return 0;
}

Output on Linux:

Boot Unique ID: bba30543-fea2-4477-b9e4-5343f8746200

Output on Windows:

Boot Unique ID: 22066640

Example 6: Get CPU Architecture

#include "fmt/fmt.h"
#include "sysinfo/sysinfo.h"

int main() {
    fmt_printf("CPU Architecture: %s\n", sysinfo_cpu_architecture());
    return 0;
}

Output on Linux/Windows:

CPU Architecture: x86_64

Example 7: Get Machine Host Name

#include "fmt/fmt.h"
#include "sysinfo/sysinfo.h"

int main() {
    fmt_printf("Machine Host Name: %s\n", sysinfo_machine_host_name());
    return 0;
}

Output on Linux:

Machine Host Name: kaisen-VirtualBox

Output on Windows:

Machine Host Name: DESKTOP-DF2A2F9

Example 8: Get Machine Unique ID

#include "fmt/fmt.h"
#include "sysinfo/sysinfo.h"

int main() {
    fmt_printf("Machine Unique ID: %s\n", sysinfo_machine_unique_id());
    return 0;
}

Output on Linux:

Machine Unique ID: 4229c1dd3d8c41e1a7b9e1102912cde3

Output on Windows:

Machine Unique ID: 8ba376a1-9832-45a0-b7bd-5d507e7a1d68

Example 9: Get Pretty Product Name

#include "fmt/fmt.h"
#include "sysinfo/sysinfo.h"

int main() {
    fmt_printf("Pretty Product Name: %s\n", sysinfo_pretty_product_name());
    return 0;
}

Output on Linux:

Pretty Product Name: Ubuntu 24.04

Output on Windows:

Pretty Product Name: Windows 10 Version 10.0 (Build 19045)

Example 10: List Bluetooth Devices

#include "fmt/fmt.h"
#include "sysinfo/sysinfo.h"
#include <stdlib.h>

int main() {
    int count = 0;
    char** devices = sysinfo_list_bluetooth_devices(&count);

    fmt_printf("Found %d Bluetooth devices:\n", count);
    for

 (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
        fmt_printf("%s\n", devices[i]);
        free(devices[i]);
    }

    free(devices);
    return 0;
}