Getting the parent process in VB.Net

 

The .net framework’s Process object lacks a means of determining which process invoked it. 

There are 3 techniques I have seen for determining this:

• Api Calls
• Iterating through the process table
• Using wmi

This code sample uses the 3rd technique.  

Usage:

The code exposes a new “Parent” process function on the standard System.Diagnostics.Process class.

MessageBox.Show(System.Diagnostics.Process.GetCurrentProcess.Parent.Id)

Source:

Imports System.Management
Public Module ProcessExtensions
    <System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Extension()> _
    Public Function Parent(ByVal process As Process) As Process
        Return process.GetProcessById(miGetParentProcessId(process.Id))
    End Function
    Private Function miGetParentProcessId(ByVal processId As Integer) As Integer

        Dim loQuery As SelectQuery = New SelectQuery(String.Format("select * from Win32_Process where ProcessId = {0}", processId))
        Dim loSearcher As ManagementObjectSearcher = New ManagementObjectSearcher(loQuery)
        Dim loProcesses As ManagementObjectCollection = loSearcher.Get()

        If loProcesses.Count > 0 Then
            Return loProcesses(0)("ParentProcessId")
        End If
        Return 0
    End Function
End Module

 

 

References

Kill a specific process – System.Management forum post

Retrieving the Parent Process of a Child when Multiple Instances Exist – Robert Villahermosa

System Management Select Query