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From: jwas@PacBell.COM (Joe Wasik)
Newsgroups: comp.databases
Subject: INFORMIX bug?
Keywords: informix bug 4gl
Message-ID: <8330@pbhyf.PacBell.COM>
Date: 19 Nov 90 20:09:29 GMT
Organization: Pacific * Bell, San Ramon, CA
Lines: 37

We have this rather annoying problem with Informix-4GL.  When an Informix-4GL
application runs and accesses a database, it starts a back-end named sqlexec.
This back-end is supposed to die when the Informix-4GL application terminates,
but it doesn't.  In our case, since the Informix-4GL application starts up
other background jobs, the sqlexec program hangs around until those other jobs
are finished and it then interferes with the logoff process.

This is rather bizarre behavior.  Those other jobs are simple Unix scripts an
have nothing to do with Informix' database.  What on earth is sqlexec waiting
for?

This question has been asked before on this net without resolution, so we've
implemented our own solution.  Before the Informix-4GL program ends, it
executes something like the following (not actual code):

system("nohup kill -16 `ps -u ${LOGNAME} | cut -1-6 | grep " sqlexec$"` &")
(Not shown: a check to ensure that there is only one sqlexec).

In case anyone else had this problem, this solution does work.  The user
when logging off now drops out of the system instead of hanging or getting
the "login:" prompt.

This problem only occurred on our 3B15.  We do not pay our $5000+++ on this
machine so that we can ask a question of Informix.  We tried to reproduce it
on one where we do pay the bucks, but elsewhere sqlexec dies when it should.
So...  no help from Informix.

We still have some questions though (from the general public) ...  Is a signal
16 (found by trial and error) an appropriate way to kill sqlexec?  Are we
doing any harm to our database by terminating sqlexec with kill?

Thanks.

-- 
Joe Wasik - PacBell, 2600 Camino Ramon, 4e750, San Ramon, CA 94583  415-823-2422
jcwasik@clib.pacbell.com or {att,bellcore,sun,ames,pyramid}!pacbell!clib!jcwasik
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