Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wasatch!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!bfmny0!tneff From: tneff@bfmny0.UUCP (Tom Neff) Newsgroups: comp.bugs.sys5 Subject: vi(1) bug - defunct processes Message-ID: <14562@bfmny0.UUCP> Date: 18 Aug 89 18:22:45 GMT Reply-To: tneff@bfmny0.UUCP (Tom Neff) Organization: TSTS (Tri-State Transsubstantiation Services) Lines: 19 Summary: Filter (!) operator leaves a defunct process every time To heck with mailx(1), this is worse. Why am I just noticing these things now? I have: AT&T UNIX System V/386 3.2.1 /usr/bin/vi.sl 1.1 3.2 06/24/88 40949 AT&T-SF The symptom: Every time you pass a piece of an open file through a filter (e.g., 'spell', 'filter' etc) using the !operator, 'vi' leaves the process it used hanging in the system, not removed. After enough filter operations, there are no free processes in the system and things grind to a halt. The processes cannot be killed while 'vi' is still running, even with signal 9 from root. Only exiting vi fixes it. What a damned annoyance. Is this known and TBFIAFR? -- "We walked on the moon -- (( Tom Neff you be polite" )) tneff@bfmny0.UU.NET