LYNX-DEV Lynx (in the past?) not quitting when it should

[Bob Izenberg]

Clipped from comp.security.unix:

# Subject: Re: Telnet exit
# From: address@hidden (Tim Newsham)

I was not talking about old OS versions or misconfigured systems.  I
was talking about buggy software.  When you log off of the system
the system notices it and lets programs know.  This happens in two
ways.  The first is that when you read() the tty, it is no longer
there and you get back a zero length read (indicating an end of file.
this has nothing to do with ^D's being ignored).  The second is that a
signal is generated and sent to the process. 

Some buggy software (several popular programs, ugh!) do not handle
the hang up properly and go into an infinite loop reading nothing
(read(), return value zero, but the program didn't check the return
value), and chewing up CPU.  This is with *CURRENT* OS versions
that are properly configured, but running software that has flaws
(two that I experienced this with were pine and lynx in 1995, they
may have been fixed since).

: What are the dates on MNP and LAPM error correction? Getty by contrast, has 
been
: around for a relatively LONG time with only slight mods.

this has nothing to do with error correction or line noise.

: Jeremy McMillan  | Finger for PGP

                                       Tim N.

(end of clipping)