Subject: Strange "tail" problem
To: None <netbsd-bugs@NetBSD.ORG>
From: None <richard@cogsci.edinburgh.ac.uk>
List: netbsd-bugs
Date: 11/17/1994 14:26:45
[Sorry I'm not sending this with "send-pr" - I don't have a NetBSD machine
with mail yet.]

NetBSD 1.0 i386

This is one of the strangest bugs I've ever seen.

If there is a suspended tail process, new tail processes don't see lines
added to the file:

                    bash$ cat >xyzzy
                    1
                    2
                    3
[EOF]
                    bash$ tail -f xyzzy
                    1
                    2
                    3

[Here I typed suspend. Incidentally, why isn't my suspend character echoed?]
                    [1]+  Stopped                 tail -f xyzzy
                    bash$ cat >>xyzzy
                    a
                    b
[EOF]
                    bash$ cat xyzzy
                    1
                    2
                    3
                    a
                    b
[Cat works as expected.]
                    bash$ tail -2 xyzzy
                    3
[Doesn't see the added lines, and only prints one of the old lines!]
                    bash$ fg
                    tail -f xyzzy
                    a
                    b
                    
[I typed control-C here.]
                    bash$ tail -2 xyzzy
                    a
                    b
[And now it works just fine!]

-- Richard