Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!mit-eddie!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!mouse
From: mouse@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu (der Mouse)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: login shell prob (2.0) + assorted gripes
Message-ID: <1991Feb22.063317.26114@thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu>
Date: 22 Feb 91 06:33:17 GMT
Organization: McGill Research Centre for Intelligent Machines
Lines: 54

Okay, I have this slab sitting here.  Now, I wanted to set up something
involving a "special" login shell.  So I start up UserMgr and create a
new user, and point the "shell" field at the special pseudo-shell.  But
nothing seems to work.

I eventually reduced the pseudo-shell to the following:

main(ac,av)
int ac;
char **av;
{
 write(1,".sh\r\n",5);
 execv("/bin/csh",av);
 write(1,"exec failed\r\n",15);
}

and I still see the problem.

And what is this problem?

Well, when I su to this account, everything works fine.  But when I use
rlogin instead, I get the "Last login" line, I get the output from the
first write() call, and then it hangs.  Running ps in another window
reveals that it has execed /bin/csh, which has proceeded to go into an
infinite loop, as far as I can tell: its state is always R and its
cpu-time field is climbing.  And - this is particularly interesting -
ps reports that it has no control tty; the TT field is ?.  (A slightly
more elaborate pseudo-shell which tries to open /dev/tty shows behavior
consistent with this.)  Yet when I go back into UserMgr and set this
login's shell field to /bin/csh, there's no problem: even when I
rlogin, I get a prompt and ps reports that the csh has a control tty.

So, what gives?  Anybody have any clue whatsoever?

While I've got your collective ear, a few other gripes I've got....

- Why is it so hostile to multiple uid-0 users?  When I create another
  user with UID 0 and try to log in as that user, it gives me root's
  workspace layout instead of the new user's.  (Yes, I understand the
  reasons one conventially does not want to do this, and yes, I am
  certain I do want to do it - unless there is some other way to
  declare a user to be a super-user.)

- How do I get Terminal out of reverse video?

- How can I tell it that I *don't* F-ing *want* the "File Viewer"
  window on login?  That I want my Terminal (which I have set to start
  up automatically) to have initial keyboard focus?

					der Mouse

			old: mcgill-vision!mouse
			new: mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu


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