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Date:      Wed, 19 Dec 2007 19:06:15 -0500
From:      Mikhail Teterin <mi+mill@aldan.algebra.com>
To:        questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: tail does not exit
Message-ID:  <200712191906.16254.mi%2Bmill@aldan.algebra.com>
In-Reply-To: <86abo64543.fsf@bsd.by>
References:  <200712192322.lBJNMfps053071@aldan.algebra.com> <86abo64543.fsf@bsd.by>

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Max N. Boyarov:
> =9A =9A =9A -f =9A =9A =9AThe -f option causes tail to not stop when end =
of file is
> =9A =9A =9A =9A =9A =9A =9Areached, but rather to wait for additional dat=
a to be appended
> to the input. =9AThe -f option is ignored if the standard input is a pipe,
> but not if it is a FIFO.

Josh Tolbert:
> Cause the -f option to tail doesn't work that way. -f always waits for mo=
re
> input.

I know very well about -f waiting for more *input*. What puzzles me, is tha=
t=20
tail does not quit, when its *output* is closed.

James Harrison:
> Is there a reason you want the -f flag?

Yes, I want awk to be processing the lines, which are appended to the file,=
=20
until it finds, what it is looking for, and exits. I expect tail to go away=
,=20
when its stdout is closed, but it does not.

> tail -f holds on for dear life until a ctrl-c happens. IT HAS A DEATH
> GRIP!

This seems like a bug to me... It should hold on to its input file(s), but=
=20
exit peacefully, when its stdout closes. No?

 -mi



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