tneff@bfmny0.BFM.COM (Tom Neff) (08/21/90)
In article <269@happym.wa.com> irv@happym.wa.com (Irving Wolfe) writes: >I frequently pipe a paragraph out from vi when I'm writing to a reformatter we >wrote that adjusts the line lengths and fixes word spacing when possible. >This has always worked fine. > >Tonight I was doing it and after awhile the system ate my text and replaced it >with "No more processes." ... Right. Nothing specific to SCO UNIX about that. It's a bug in the editor -- it doesn't close its pipes properly, so every buffer-filter operation leaves a defunct process. The only solution is to close your file and exit the editor now and then. If you run into the problem a lot and have the luxury of administering your own system, you can raise NPROCS a little to give yourself some breathing room. -- The most common given name in the world is Mohammad; | Tom Neff the most common family name in the world is Chang. | Can you imagine the enormous number of people in the | tneff@bfmny0.BFM.COM world named Mohammad Chang? -- Derek Wills | uunet!bfmny0!tneff
rcd@ico.isc.com (Dick Dunn) (08/22/90)
irv@happym.wa.com (Irving Wolfe) writes: > I frequently pipe a paragraph out from vi... ... > Tonight I was doing it and after awhile the system ate my text and replaced it > with "No more processes."... ... > ...I had about 20 > <defunct> children of my vi process hanging around. When I exited vi again, > they all disappeared... 1. This doesn't seem specific to SCO; apparently it's in the release version of vi for V.3.2/386. 2. (To Irving's later question) No, it's not related to the directory you were in. 3. The problem is caused by vi not doing a wait() for the filter processes. I don't know whether it's in vi _per_se_ or in some library code, but a <defunct> process (a "zombie") means it's terminated but the parent hasn't acknowledged it. 4. To work around the problem, escape out of vi with :sh, then drop back in. Vi has to wait for the shell; in the process of doing so it reaps all the other zombies. -- Dick Dunn rcd@ico.isc.com -or- ico!rcd Boulder, CO (303)449-2870 ...Are you making this up as you go along?
irv@happym.wa.com (Irving Wolfe) (08/22/90)
In <269@happym.wa.com> I wrote: >I frequently pipe a paragraph out from vi when I'm writing to a reformatter >... >after awhile the system ate my text and replaced it with "No more processes." I've already gotten two mailed replies telling me that this is a "known bug" in vi. Funny, it wasn't there in my Motorola UNIX V.2. According to one of the responders, ":shell" every once in a while would get rid of the <defunct> processes without my having to exit from vi. I have not tried this yet. Thanks, responders, and unless you have something different to say, I consider the question answered. -- Irving Wolfe Happy Man Corp. irv@happym.wa.com 206/463-9399 ext.101 4410 SW Point Robinson Road, Vashon Island, WA 98070-7399 fax ext.116 SOLID VALUE, the investment letter for Benj. Graham's intelligent investors Information free (sample $10 check or credit card): email patty@happym.wa.com