Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!ames!mailrus!cwjcc!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!att!skep2!wcs
From: wcs@skep2.ATT.COM (Bill.Stewart.[ho95c])
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: semantics of /dev/tty?
Keywords: stat /dev/tty
Message-ID: <466@skep2.ATT.COM>
Date: 20 Feb 89 03:08:12 GMT
References: <1181@mina.liu.se> <1001@auspex.UUCP> <5655@bsu-cs.UUCP>
Reply-To: wcs@skep2.UUCP (Bill.Stewart)
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs Center 4632, Holmdel, NJ
Lines: 24

In article <5655@bsu-cs.UUCP> dhesi@bsu-cs.UUCP (Rahul Dhesi) writes:
> It is almost certainly a feature, not a bug, except in one situation.
> That situation occurs when a site logs out idle users based on the
> access time of each user's /dev/ttyxx device, and a user happens to be
> using C-Kermit, which opens /dev/tty leaves /dev/ttyxx inactive during
> file transfers.

Idle-daemons are EVIL!

Suppose you have an intelligent terminal, (blit, pc, 3270 :-), whatever)
and are working in local mode - you may not touch either /dev/tty or
/dev/ttyxx for a long time, because you're trying to get your graphics
to look perfect, and the idle daemon decides you've walked away without
logging off.  Bad news!

Also, the general rule about idle-daemons is that any idle-daemon
that makes an intelligent decision about whether you're really there or
not can be fooled by users, and any one that doesn't will trash people
who are working.
-- 
#				Thanks;
# Bill Stewart, AT&T Bell Labs 2G218 Holmdel NJ 201-949-0705 ho95c.att.com!wcs
#
#	News.  Don't talk to me about News.