GNU bug report logs - #1642
grep fails with "Can't exec program"

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Message #5 received at submit <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: "David L" <idht4n <at> gmail.com>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: grep fails with "Can't exec program"
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:21:52 -0800

I grepped through a large list of files and intermittently
got an error "Can't exec program" instead of matches.


In GNU Emacs 22.2.1 (i386-redhat-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 2.12.9)
 of 2008-05-23 on xenbuilder4.fedora.phx.redhat.com
Windowing system distributor `The X.Org Foundation', version 11.0.10503000
configured using `configure  '--build=i386-redhat-linux-gnu'
'--host=i386-redhat-linux-gnu' '--target=i386-redhat-linux-gnu'
'--program-prefix=' '--prefix=/usr' '--exec-prefix=/usr'
'--bindir=/usr/bin' '--sbindir=/usr/sbin' '--sysconfdir=/etc'
'--datadir=/usr/share' '--includedir=/usr/include' '--libdir=/usr/lib'
'--libexecdir=/usr/libexec' '--localstatedir=/var'
'--sharedstatedir=/usr/com' '--mandir=/usr/share/man'
'--infodir=/usr/share/info' '--with-x-toolkit=gtk' '--with-sound'
'--with-toolkit-scroll-bars' 'build_alias=i386-redhat-linux-gnu'
'host_alias=i386-redhat-linux-gnu'
'target_alias=i386-redhat-linux-gnu' 'CFLAGS=-DMAIL_USE_LOCKF -O2 -g
-pipe -Wall -Wp,-D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2 -fexceptions -fstack-protector
--param=ssp-buffer-size=4 -m32 -march=i386 -mtune=generic
-fasynchronous-unwind-tables''

Important settings:
  value of $LC_ALL: nil
  value of $LC_COLLATE: nil
  value of $LC_CTYPE: nil
  value of $LC_MESSAGES: nil
  value of $LC_MONETARY: nil
  value of $LC_NUMERIC: nil
  value of $LC_TIME: en_DK.UTF-8
  value of $LANG: en_US.UTF-8
  locale-coding-system: utf-8
  default-enable-multibyte-characters: t

Major mode: Grep

Minor modes in effect:
  shell-dirtrack-mode: t
  tooltip-mode: t
  tool-bar-mode: t
  mouse-wheel-mode: t
  menu-bar-mode: t
  file-name-shadow-mode: t
  global-font-lock-mode: t
  font-lock-mode: t
  blink-cursor-mode: t
  unify-8859-on-encoding-mode: t
  utf-translate-cjk-mode: t
  auto-compression-mode: t
  line-number-mode: t

Recent input:
C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f
C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-b n C-x C-s C-x b <return>
C-x u C-x u C-x u C-x u C-n C-x C-s <help-echo> <help-echo>
<help-echo> <help-echo> <escape> t e v t C-g C-x b
a u <tab> <escape> . a u t o a c t . c p p <return>
C-s e v t 2 f i l e C-s C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f C-f
C-f <escape> . <return> C-x C-f <backspace> <backspace>
<backspace> <backspace> <backspace> <backspace> <backspace>
<backspace> s r <tab> r a w <tab> c <tab> <return>
C-x 1 C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n
C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n
C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n
C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n
C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n
C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n C-n
C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p
C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p
C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo>
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo>
<help-echo> <escape> t D E G L <backspace> <backspace>
<backspace> G L H A C K <return> <down-mouse-1> <mouse-1>
<down-mouse-5> <mouse-5> <escape> t <up> <return> y
e s <return> C-x o <escape> > <escape> t <up> <return>
<escape> > C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p C-p
C-p C-p C-p C-p C-n C-n <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo>
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <menu-bar>
<help-menu> <send-emacs-bug-report>

Recent messages:
Saving file /tmp/mvutils.cpp...
Wrote /tmp/mvutils.cpp
Undo! [3 times]
undo-more: No further undo information
Wrote /tmp/mainmorph.cpp
Quit [2 times]
Mark set
Mark saved where search started
Mark set [3 times]
Loading emacsbug...done

Message #10 received at 1642 <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>
To: "David L" <idht4n <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 1642 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: grep fails with "Can't exec program"
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:32:07 -0500

> I grepped through a large list of files and intermittently
> got an error "Can't exec program" instead of matches.

Please provide an exact recipe for reproducing this bug, starting with
`emacs -Q'.  Thanks.

Message #15 received at 1642 <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: "David L" <idht4n <at> gmail.com>
To: "Chong Yidong" <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>
Cc: 1642 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: grep fails with "Can't exec program"
Date: Mon, 22 Dec 2008 07:40:52 -0800

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

On Fri, Dec 19, 2008 at 11:32 PM, Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com> wrote:
>> I grepped through a large list of files and intermittently
>> got an error "Can't exec program" instead of matches.
>
> Please provide an exact recipe for reproducing this bug, starting with
> `emacs -Q'.  Thanks.
>

The problem is intermittent, and I was unable to reproduce it
at all this morning.  But I'll provide you with something as similar
as I can to the environment I usually see the problem in without
providing you with my company's source code.  I've attached a
.el file named "filenames.el".  If I run emacs like this:

emacs -l filenames.el

Then do:

esc-x my-grep

and enter some string to grep for, it sometimes fails with "Can't exec program".

From what I can determine, execvp is failing in callproc.c, but I don' know
why this would be intermittent:

  execvp (new_argv[0], new_argv);
  emacs_write (1, "Can't exec program: ", 20);

I'm not sure if the problem is reproducible with the attached file, but it
is basically the same thing as what I'm doing when I see the problem.
My project makefile generates a list of all of the source files in the
application and when I want to find a string in the source files, I use the
my-grep function to search for it (I find this more convenient than
tags search).

Thanks,

            David

[filenames.el (text/plain, attachment)]

Message #20 received at 1642 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
To: "David L" <idht4n <at> gmail.com>
Cc: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>, 1642 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: grep fails with "Can't exec program"
Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2011 20:32:22 +0200

"David L" <idht4n <at> gmail.com> writes:

>>From what I can determine, execvp is failing in callproc.c, but I don' know
> why this would be intermittent:
>
>   execvp (new_argv[0], new_argv);
>   emacs_write (1, "Can't exec program: ", 20);

Are you still seeing this bug in newer Emacsen?

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
  bloggy blog http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no/

Message #25 received at 1642 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
To: "David L" <idht4n <at> gmail.com>
Cc: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>, 1642 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: grep fails with "Can't exec program"
Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 23:46:55 +0200

Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org> writes:

>>>>From what I can determine, execvp is failing in callproc.c, but I don' know
>> why this would be intermittent:
>>
>>   execvp (new_argv[0], new_argv);
>>   emacs_write (1, "Can't exec program: ", 20);
>
> Are you still seeing this bug in newer Emacsen?

More information was requested, but was apparently not given, so I'm
closing this bug report.  If this is still a problem, please reopen the
bug report.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
  bloggy blog http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no/

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