Re: Solaris 8: runaway processes in check

[Jim Meyering]

Ralf Wildenhues <address@hidden> wrote:
> `make -k check' of 5.96 has a rather serious problem on Solaris 8.
> Let's say, at one point it causes a fork bomb, I see lots of processes
> of the form
> | sh -c ../../../coreutils-5.96/tests/misc/sort -m 'empty' 'f' > m1.O 2> m1.E
>
> in the `ps' output.  Before I could even get make interrupted, I
> had to kill lots of processes from another shell.
>
> The last test before that was
> | PASS: ../../../coreutils-5.96/tests/misc/head-pos
>
> This further process is are still listed:
> | perl -w -I../../../coreutils-5.96/tests/misc/.. -MCoreutils -- -
>
> I don't know coreutils much at all, so I'd appreciate help in how to
> proceed here.

Please identify the test that is causing trouble.
Here's how to start:

  cd tests/misc
  make check TESTS=sort

If that test is the one causing the trouble,
then there's something very strange going on.
It's supposed to invoke sort only once:

  $ /usr/bin/time make check TESTS=sort
  make  check-TESTS
  make[1]: Entering directory `/home_old/e/fet/cu-b5_9x/tests/misc'
  PASS: sort
  ==================
  All 1 tests passed
  ==================
  make[1]: Leaving directory `/home_old/e/fet/cu-b5_9x/tests/misc'
  0.03user 0.01system 0:00.05elapsed 96%CPU (0avgtext+0avgdata 0maxresident)k
  0inputs+0outputs (0major+5267minor)pagefaults 0swaps

To get more detail, rerun the command with these
environment settings: VERBOSE=yes DEBUG=yes :

  $ env VERBOSE=yes DEBUG=yes make check TESTS=sort
  make  check-TESTS
  make[1]: Entering directory `/home_old/e/fet/cu-b5_9x/tests/misc'
  sort (GNU coreutils) 5.97
  Copyright (C) 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
  This is free software.  You may redistribute copies of it under the terms of
  the GNU General Public License <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
  There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

  Written by Mike Haertel and Paul Eggert.
  creating file `empty' with contents `'
  creating file `f' with contents `foo
  '
  creating file `m1.1' with contents `foo
  '
  creating file `m1.2' with contents `'
  m1...
  Running command: `sort -m 'empty' 'f' > m1.O 2> m1.E'
  PASS: sort
  ==================
  All 1 tests passed
  ==================
  make[1]: Leaving directory `/home_old/e/fet/cu-b5_9x/tests/misc'

If that test is not at fault, just try the others (from Makefile.am's
TESTS definitions, of course).

Thanks,

Jim