Re: xterm is a console program?

[Igor Pechtchanski <pechtcha at cs dot nyu dot edu>]

On Mon, 19 May 2003, Early Ehlinger wrote:

> "Christopher Faylor" <cgf-rcm@cygwin.com> wrote:
> > >task.  See
> > >
> > >http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml
> > >
> > >Which appears to display the process tree on windows 9x and NT/2k/xp.  I
> > >haven't tried it on 9x, since I have no 9x boxes (275 computers and not a
> > >single one running Windows 9x :-) , but the page suggests that it will
> work
> > >there.  Perhaps somebody with a downrev Windows version will take the
> time
> > >to try it out and report the results back here?
> >
> > And what will that prove?
>
> It would prove that one can implement a getppid on Windows.  If you can
> build the process tree, you can search said tree for the current process and
> then backstep once to get to the parent.  Not an O(1) operation, granted,
> but still doable.
>
> > >An alternative solution could be to have cygwin1.dll check a special
> > >environment variable, say "PTY_CONSOLE_HANDLE" which would be
> >
> > You're proposing a lot ideas and work just to avoid the annoyance of a
> > console flashing.  You're also treading on territory where other
> > talented people have trod.
> >
> > If you want to see change, your best bet is to start producing patches
> > rather than speculating and offering ideas.  We're all pretty imaginative
> > people here.  We can all imagine ways that this could be fixed.  What
> > is needed is someone to actually provide the work.
>
> Thank you very much for the sermon :)
>
> I speculate and offer ideas because I am currently bogged down to the point
> where I cannot implement them.  I offer them up to the community on the off
> chance that they may spark an idea in somebody's mind (perhaps even somebody
> with more time than I who wants the same features I do).  If nobody picks
> them up before I find the time and energy, then I'll give them a go.
>
> It's not the annoyance of a console flashing; it's the annoyance of a
> console appearing and *REMAINING* for the duration of the X client's
> lifetime.  Very different problems.  A console appearing for a few seconds
> would not be a big deal.
>
> Sure, people have tread this territory - my search brought me to the
> sysinternals link above.  If you notice, I was responding to a portion of
> Karl Waclawek's message where he was pondering the ability to find the
> parent process's ID in Windows.  I merely suggested that it might be doable
> on all cygwin-supported Windows flavors and offered a pointer to a resource
> that claims to do it.
>
> And BTW, I've actually contributed some time to developing patches - you
> have me to thank for the new tray icon as well as the lack of a taskbar
> entry in -multiwindow mode.
>
> > I will give you a hint that I'll never accept a proposal that involves
> > setting a PTY_CONSOLE_HANDLE environment variable however.
>
> Why not?  It would be perfectly reliable and quite transparent to the
> program if the runtime hid it from the program.  Granted, PTY_CONSOLE_HANDLE
> might be somewhat prone to name clash, but you could use a variable with a
> guid in its name or something similar instead, e.g.:
>
> PTY_CONSOLE_HANDLE_dea841d9_b55a_4820_909a_a1b2f80311fa.
>
> -- Early Ehlinger

Early,

The "problem" you are talking about is a non-issue.  If you don't like the
console, use "run" to get rid of it, and leave the apps with the ability
to attach to the console of their parent that they now have (as console
apps).  I, personally, don't see a reason to make an xterm into a pure GUI
app when "run" is available.
	Igor
-- 
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