Subject: bug#44824: [PATCH] org.el: Avoid xdg-open silent failure

From: Maxim Nikulin <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2021 19:29:49 +0700

On 18/02/2021 21:48, Eli Zaretskii wrote:
>> From: Maxim Nikulin
>> Date: Thu, 18 Feb 2021 19:56:03 +0700
>>
>> I could not estimate effect of such change on windows, so pipe process
>> is used only on linux. I am unsure concerning mac however.
> 
> On Windows Emacs always uses pipes, because we don't have PTYs there.
> And there's no xdg-open on MS-Windows anyway, so it's a moot point.

Should I consider your response as a suggestion to remove the `if' 
related to `system-type'?

If I remember correctly, on windows it is possible to communicate with a 
process through stdin and stdout only if the application is compiled as 
a *console* one. That is why it is unclear for me, which component 
handles console or GUI distinction when process is specified as pipe in 
lisp code, and whether all arguments of `make-process', that I have 
used, are suitable on windows.

"start file.pdf" executed in cmd.exe launches an application that does 
not block command prompt. In this sense it similar to background 
processes launched by kde-open5 or "gio open". However I am unaware if 
there is something similar to process groups on windows that leads to 
termination of all group members when leader process finishes.