How do you interpret the process metrics displayed in top in Linux?

The top command in Linux displays dynamic information about processes and system resource usage. The main process metrics shown include:

• PID — process identifier.
• USER — the user who started the process.
• PR — process priority.
• NI — nice value (priority shift).
• VIRT — total virtual memory used by the process.
• RES — resident (physical) memory used by the process.
• SHR — shared memory.
• S — process state (R — running, S — sleeping, Z — zombie, etc.).
• %CPU — percentage of CPU usage.
• %MEM — percentage of RAM usage.
• TIME+ — total CPU time used by the process.
• COMMAND — command or process name.

These metrics help understand which processes consume resources and identify potential performance issues.