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From: pfeiffer@rsch.WISC.EDU (Phil Pfeiffer)
Newsgroups: net.unix
Subject: Request for help on background shell processing
Message-ID: <2714@rsch.WISC.EDU>
Date: Mon, 15-Sep-86 20:28:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: rsch.2714
Posted: Mon Sep 15 20:28:46 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 16-Sep-86 20:47:00 EDT
Distribution: na
Organization: U of Wisconsin CS Dept
Lines: 36


The systems in question are 4.3BSD Unix and Ultrix.
The problem is as follows:


Assume file "nxf" does not exist.
Assume the following lines are in shell script 'cmd':
 
  #!/bin/csh
  rm nxf         >& cmd_out
  echo $status   >  cmd_stat


Assume the following lines are in shell script 'master': 

  #!( doesn't matter whether master is executed using "/bin/sh" or "/bin/csh" )
  cmd

'master', as is, executes just fine.  The "cannot find file" error message and
error status values are written into cmd_out and cmd_stat, respectively.


Assume the following lines are in shell script 'bgmaster': 

  #!( doesn't matter whether master is executed using "/bin/sh" or "/bin/csh" )
  cmd &
  wait

Now "cmd_out" is empty on return, and "cmd_stat=1".   Why?


-- 
-- Phil Pfeiffer

...!{harvard,ihnp4,seismo,topaz}!uwvax!pfeiffer
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