Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!adm!smoke!gwyn From: gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL (Doug Gwyn ) Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards Subject: Re: Autologout of unused terminals Message-ID: <8999@smoke.BRL.MIL> Date: 28 Nov 88 12:01:44 GMT References: <201.nlunix6@orcenl.uucp> <83@cosmic.sns.UUCP> <2018@nunki.usc.edu> Reply-To: gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB)) Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD. Lines: 18 In article <2018@nunki.usc.edu> connet@castor.usc.edu (David Connet) writes: >Another way, if you are using ksh, is to set the TMOUT variable. >After TMOUT seconds, a message is sent saying to the effect 'if you don't >do something in 60 seconds, I'm killing you...' I don't know why Korn chose TMOUT when TIMEOUT was the prior art for this. The BRL Bourne shell also can optionally be configured with TIMEOUT support. The correct description is: If a PS1 prompt is not responded to within the TIMEOUT period, the shell exits. Setting TIMEOUT to 0 disables this feature. Note that Blit/DMD/MTG (5620/630 etc.) users have to disable TIMEOUT since some of their layer windows may not receive any input for quite some time, especially if a downloaded process is in control of the layer. At least with the TIMEOUT approach there IS a way to disable the auto-timeout when necessary. Most suggested approaches are just not usable in any but the most mickey-mouse environments.