Monitor hard disk usage with Go
Storage-hungry applications such as video-editing software gobble up disk capacity like a massive vacuum cleaner: Before you know it, everything has been used up. In situations such as this, incorrectly programmed software tends to crash, and all the time you invested in your current project is irretrievably lost. If you take precautions up front, you can avoid headaches later on.
How about a constantly updated display of the remaining space on a dashboard-like instrument on the desktop, where you can see out of the corner of your eye how much disk space is wasted by an action that has just been triggered, such as rendering a video? You can write something like this quickly in Go.
On the Dashboard
A car's dashboard shows the current speed as well as the mileage. If you apply this to hard disks, the car's mileage reading becomes the total disk space consumed. Similarly, where in a car the speedometer needle shows the current speed, in the hard disk universe, the needle measures the space consumed per unit of time. The analogy for a storage-hungry application would be a speeding traffic offender, if you like.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Reaches EOL
Linux kernel 6.16 has reached its end of life, which means you'll need to upgrade to the next stable release, Linux kernel 6.17.
-
Amazon Ditches Android for a Linux-Based OS
Amazon has migrated from Android to the Linux-based Vega OS for its Fire TV.
-
Cairo Dock 3.6 Now Available for More Compositors
If you're a fan of third-party desktop docks, then the latest release of Cairo Dock with Wayland support is for you.
-
System76 Unleashes Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
System76's first beta of Pop!_OS 24.04 is an impressive feat.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.