Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!tektronix!orca!tekecs!frip!andrew
From: andrew@frip.wv.tek.com (Andrew Klossner)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: invoking write from cron
Message-ID: <11331@tekecs.GWD.TEK.COM>
Date: 25 Apr 89 16:29:47 GMT
References: <175@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> <8594@xanth.cs.odu.edu> <2505@mentor.cc.purdue.edu>
Sender: andrew@tekecs.GWD.TEK.COM
Distribution: usa
Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville, Oregon
Lines: 15

[]

	"4.3BSD write(1) exits with a fatal error if it cannot find out
	what terminal the writer is logged on to.  So, write isn't
	going to work under 4.3BSD if run from inside cron.  It's
	relatively simple to write a shell script version of write
	using echo, who, and awk that doesn't depend on a controlling
	tty."

It's even easier just to supply a controlling tty:

	echo "message to send" | write userid 2>/dev/console

  -=- Andrew Klossner   (uunet!tektronix!orca!frip!andrew)      [UUCP]
                        (andrew%frip.wv.tek.com@relay.cs.net)   [ARPA]