title: How to get total cpu usage in Linux using C++
body: <p>I am trying to get total cpu usage in %. First I should start by saying that "top" will simply not do, as there is a delay between cpu dumps, it requires 2 dumps and several seconds, which hangs my program (I do not want to give it its own thread)</p>
  
  <p>next thing what I tried is "ps" which is instant but always gives very high number in total (20+) and when I actually got my cpu to do something it stayed at about 20...</p>
  
  <p>Is there any other way that I could get total cpu usage? It does not matter if it is over one second or longer periods of time... Longer periods would be more useful, though.</p>