Purpose of the W utility in Linux

The W utility in Linux is a command line utility that allows you to view information about current system users and their activity.

What information does w output?

When you run the w command in a terminal, it displays the following information:

1. Username: the username under which the user is logged in.
2. Terminal: the terminal through which the user logged in.
3. Status: the user's current status (for example, "loaded" or "free").
4. Logon time: the time the user logged in.
5. Activity time: the time the user has spent on the system since logging in.
6. CPU utilization: the percentage of CPU usage by the user.
7. MEM usage: the percentage of memory usage by the user.

The W utility also shows general system information such as current time, system activity time, number of users, and average CPU utilization. W can be useful for monitoring user activity on the system, tracking the resources used by each user, and determining who is currently on the system.

For more information on the parameters and use of the W utility, see the user's manual or run the man w command in the terminal. It is included in most distributions and does not require installation.