Comment #3 on issue 7 by dnietoc: spawn does not properly handle certain processes http://code.google.com/p/xmonad/issues/detail?id=7

Processes that read from stdin no longer block Xmonad. However, there are reports that these processes become abnormally blocked on stdin.

Actually, they are *normally* blocked on stdin waiting for data! Their standard input is not connected, though, to an X terminal but to the virtual terminal from which X was started. Let say active terminal is VT1, we now startx and (generaly?) the window manager is shown on VT7. Try this, ($ := shell prompt, > := action while X is running, [x] := x is a comment) $ startx [some output..then xmonad appears on VT7]

use Mod+p to start cat start xterm, run "ps -ax" to see it is running press Alt+Ctrl+F1 to switch to VT1 [VT1 activates, there's no prompt. what should be typed follows] here is some data to feed cat [now cat should have echoed what was typed before. press Alt+F7 to go back to X] start xterm, kill cat

Checking the file descriptors while cat is running shows the folowing mappings (on xmonad) ls -l /proc/2555/fd total 0 lrwx------ 1 diego users 64 dic 21 15:59 0 -> /dev/vc/1 lrwx------ 1 diego users 64 dic 21 15:59 1 -> /dev/vc/1 lrwx------ 1 diego users 64 dic 21 15:59 2 -> /dev/vc/1 lr-x------ 1 diego users 64 dic 21 15:59 3 -> pipe:[8609] I have tried doing the same under OpenBox window manager and they map stdin to /dev/null for every program spawned. So, those reading stdin end immidiately. (on Openbox) ls -l /proc/3617/fd/ total 0 lrwx------ 1 diego users 64 dic 15 16:39 0 -> /dev/null lrwx------ 1 diego users 64 dic 15 16:39 1 -> /dev/vc/1 lrwx------ 1 diego users 64 dic 15 16:39 2 -> /dev/vc/1 lrwx------ 1 diego users 64 dic 15 16:39 3 -> socket:[32327] -- You received this message because you are listed in the owner or CC fields of this issue, or because you starred this issue. You may adjust your issue notification preferences at: http://code.google.com/hosting/settings