Don't print errors in data files; let the general -output file catch them. Print TS lines before data. Try to find sysctl manually. Add _pidof() to alt_cmds.sh.

lib/bash/alt_cmds.sh

@@ -23,12 +23,31 @@
 
 set -u
 
+# Global variables.
+CMD_PIDOF="$(which pidof)"
+CMD_PGREP="$(which pgrep)"
+
 # seq N, return 1, ..., 5
 _seq() {
    local i="$1"
    awk "BEGIN { for(i=1; i<=$i; i++) print i; }"
 }
 
+_pidof() {
+   local proc="$1"       # process name
+   local pat="${2:-""}"  # pattern in case we must grep for proc
+   
+   local pid=""
+
+   [ "$CMD_PIDOF" ] && pid=$(pidof -s "$proc");
+
+   [ -z "$pid" ] && [ "$CMD_PGREP" ] && pid=$(pgrep -o -x "$proc");
+
+   [ -z "$pid" ] && pid=$(ps -eaf | grep "$pat" | grep -v mysqld_safe | awk '{print $2}' | head -n1)
+
+   echo $pid
+}
+
 # ###########################################################################
 # End alt_cmds package
 # ###########################################################################