Xref: utzoo comp.sys.att:4779 unix-pc.general:1694
Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!uunet!cos!hqda-ai!icus!limbic!gil
From: gil@limbic.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.att,unix-pc.general
Subject: Re: You too can change your "working" icon
Summary: No TTY input blocking?
Keywords: Working, Not Working, Icon
Message-ID: <395@limbic.UUCP>
Date: 21 Nov 88 04:40:56 GMT
References: <402@polyof.UUCP> <464@gonzo.UUCP>
Reply-To: gil@limbic.UUCP (Gil Kloepfer Jr.)
Organization: ICUS Software Systems, Islip, NY
Lines: 30

In article <464@gonzo.UUCP> daveb@gonzo.UUCP (Dave Brower) writes:
|>
|>Which reminds me to ask, "what does it *mean*, anyway?"  Is it "I'm
|>waiting for disk i/o" or "I have no idle time" or what?
[It=The UNIX-pc "Working" Icon]
|>
|>{sun,mtxinu,hoptoad}!rtech!gonzo!daveb		daveb@gonzo.uucp

After fooling with this a bit and looking at when the icon appears and
disappears, I have come to the conclusion that the window driver puts
the icon on the screen at all times except when a process connected
to the "current" window is blocking for terminal input.  At all other
times, the icon is on.  You will notice that it will come on during
a "sleep" command in the shell, but not if you simply start a subprocess
with output going to the terminal.  Even if the machine is "working" its
brains out...that icon won't come on if something is waiting for input
from the current window.

The idea of which window is "current" in this context is the window that
the keyboard is currently attached to.

Any counter-ideas to this theory are welcome.  It's the only explanation
I can come up with.  If anyone else knows for sure what happens, that's
even better :-)

------
Gil Kloepfer, Jr.          U-Net: {decuac,boulder,talcott,sbcs}!icus!limbic!gil
ICUS Software Systems      Voice: (516) 968-6860 [H]   (516) 746-2350 x219 [W]
P.O. Box 1                 Internet:  gil@icus.islp.ny.us
Islip Terrace, NY  11752   "Life's a ...  well, you know..."