GNU bug report logs - #18177
chroot: "No such file or directory" message is so confusing

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Package: coreutils;

Reported by: "T R" <theos <at> unforgettable.com>

Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2014 02:23:01 UTC

Severity: normal

Tags: notabug

Done: Pádraig Brady <P <at> draigBrady.com>

Bug is archived. No further changes may be made.

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Report forwarded to bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org:
bug#18177; Package coreutils. (Sun, 03 Aug 2014 02:23:02 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available.
Acknowledgement sent to "T R" <theos <at> unforgettable.com>:
New bug report received and forwarded. Copy sent to bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org. (Sun, 03 Aug 2014 02:23:02 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available.

Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: "T R" <theos <at> unforgettable.com>
To: bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org
Subject: chroot: "No such file or directory" message is so confusing
Date: Sun, 3 Aug 2014 04:19:53 +0200

[Message part 1 (text/html, inline)]
Information forwarded to bug-coreutils <at> gnu.org:
bug#18177; Package coreutils. (Sun, 03 Aug 2014 04:35:02 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available.

Message #8 received at 18177 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Pádraig Brady <P <at> draigBrady.com>
To: T R <theos <at> unforgettable.com>
Cc: 18177 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#18177: chroot: "No such file or directory" message is so
 confusing
Date: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 05:33:20 +0100

tag 18177 notabug
close 18177
stop

On 08/03/2014 03:19 AM, T R wrote:
>    chroot: Failed to run command '/bin/bash': No such file or directory
>    This needs to be updated with more information. It pops up when:
> 
>    1) The file is actually not there
>    2) The file's dependent libraries are not there
>    3) The file and its libraries are there, but it can't run for some
>    reason
> 
>    This is too many causes to be indicated by such a brief and
>    undocumented error message.
> 
>    Version: Every version ever
>    Distribution: Every distribution of GNU/Linux

It's exactly the reason that there can be so many causes for the error
that chroot can only indicate the error code and leave further investigation
to the user. You might be thinking that chroot could check that the
executable was present and could adjust the error accordingly.
Though that would be racy and awkward to implement due to having
to handle $PATH searching etc. So we're doing the appropriate thing here.

thanks,
Pádraig.
Added tag(s) notabug. Request was from Pádraig Brady <P <at> draigBrady.com> to control <at> debbugs.gnu.org. (Sun, 03 Aug 2014 04:35:02 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available.
bug closed, send any further explanations to 18177 <at> debbugs.gnu.org and "T R" <theos <at> unforgettable.com> Request was from Pádraig Brady <P <at> draigBrady.com> to control <at> debbugs.gnu.org. (Sun, 03 Aug 2014 04:35:03 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available.
bug archived. Request was from Debbugs Internal Request <help-debbugs <at> gnu.org> to internal_control <at> debbugs.gnu.org. (Sun, 31 Aug 2014 11:24:03 GMT) Full text and rfc822 format available.
This bug report was last modified 10 years and 293 days ago.

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