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From: mayer@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM (Niels Mayer)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: question/buggestion about gnuemacs' call-process<f>
Message-ID: <698@hplabsz.HPL.HP.COM>
Date: Fri, 21-Aug-87 02:16:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: hplabsz.698
Posted: Fri Aug 21 02:16:21 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 22-Aug-87 19:26:16 EDT
Reply-To: mayer@hplabsz.UUCP (Niels Mayer)
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Laboratories
Lines: 57
Summary: don't tell me this is impossible too!

As far as I can tell, the function call-process will not return the exit
status of the program that it runs. (both version 18.44 and 18.47)

For example:

1-elisp)
   (call-process "grep" nil (get-buffer-create "out") t "hplnpm" "/etc/wank")
   --> nil
   (progn  (set-buffer "out") (buffer-string))
   --> "grep: can't open /etc/wank"

1-csh)
   hplnpm[3] ~> grep hplnpm /etc/wank &
   --> [1] 410
   --> grep: can't open /etc/wank
   --> [1]   Exit 2               grep hplnpm /etc/wank

2-elisp)
   (call-process "grep" nil (get-buffer-create "out") t "hplnpm" "/etc/hosts")
   --> nil
   (progn  (set-buffer "out") (buffer-string))
   --> "666.666.666.666    hplnpm  beelzebub                # DCC  HP-UX Bobcat-20"

2-csh)
   hplnpm[4] ~> grep hplnpm /etc/hosts &
   --> [1] 412
   --> 666.666.666.666    hplnpm  beelzebub                # DCC  HP-UX Bobcat-20
   --> [1]   Done                 grep hplnpm /etc/hosts

3-elisp)
   (call-process "grep" nil (get-buffer-create "out") t "wank" "/etc/hosts")
   --> nil
   (progn  (set-buffer "out") (buffer-string))
   --> ""

3-csh)
   hplnpm[5] ~> grep wank /etc/hosts &
   --> [2] 413
   --> [2]   Exit 1               grep wank /etc/hosts


Obviously, it would lead to far less kludgy emacs-lisp programs if
call-process returned the exit status of the program that it runs, since many
unix programs return useful information in the exit status. It leads to
total grodyness if one has to figure out what went wrong with the program
from the program's stdout.

Does anybody have a modified call-process that can do this? If not, could
the gnuemacs developers take this as an enhancement request? I'd be willing
to do it myself, given appropriate hints from any willing gnuru or gnu
bhagwan.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
	    Niels Mayer -- hplabs!mayer -- mayer@hplabs.hp.com
		       Hewlett-Packard Laboratories
			      Palo Alto, CA.
				   *