How to Control Time Behaviour of System Call?

ruby-talk
1

Hi Ara !

Many thanks for the info below.
Unfortunately I'm not in the position to use extra packages
(Sorry, I should have mentioned this in the posting),
and my Ruby machine answers:

./fork_timeout.rb:7:in `fork': The fork() function is unimplemented on this
machine (NotImplementedError)
  from ./fork_timeout.rb:7:in `timeout'
  from ...

Right at time I try to implement Robert's suggestion
of popen and parallel Threads, but I got stuck, somehow.

perhaps something like this is what robert was suggesting, try some windows
specific commands with it:

~ > cat popen_timeout.rb module PopenTimeout
#{{{
   class TimeoutError < StandardError; end

   def timeout n_sec, cmd
#{{{
     t =
       Thread.new(cmd) do |cmd|
         pipe = IO::popen(cmd)
         stdout = pipe.read
         pipe.close
         status = $?.exitstatus
         [stdout, status]
       end

     sleep n_sec

     case t.status
       when NilClass
         raise t.value
       when FalseClass
         return t.value
       else
         t.kill
         raise TimeoutError, "<#{ n_sec }>"
     end
#}}}
   end
   module_function 'timeout'
   public 'timeout'
#}}}
end

if $0 == __FILE__
   stdout, status =
     PopenTimeout::timeout(2, 'sleep 1 && echo 42')

   puts stdout
   puts status

   stdout, status =
     PopenTimeout::timeout(1, 'sleep 2 && echo 42')
end

Maybe I have to find a completely different solution,
e.g. passing control of time behaviour into called functionality.
So it will return at all means, either regularly or 'killing' itself.

Many thanks (I could learn a lot) and best regards from Vienna
Chris

PS: What (kind of) organization is "noaa.gov" ?

national oceananic and atmouspheric administration, check out

   Solar-Terrestrial Physics Data | NCEI

to see what i do. we work with satelite imagery showing the nighttime lights
of earth from space like

   http://dmsp.ngdc.noaa.gov/html/night_light_posters.html

PPS: I like 'your' Dogen quotation !

thanks - it's a constant reminder to myself to take things in stride.

you are in germany? what's the programming market like there? we are
thinking of moving! :wink:

-a

···

On Mon, 13 Sep 2004, Neubauer Christoph wrote:
--

EMAIL :: Ara [dot] T [dot] Howard [at] noaa [dot] gov
PHONE :: 303.497.6469
A flower falls, even though we love it;
and a weed grows, even though we do not love it. --Dogen

===============================================================================

2

Hi Ara, Robert !

All attempts to control runtime behaviour of system call 'from outside'
failed.
Threads, Pipes, ... on ruby level everything was started/killed fine,
but on system level, the activated command remainded alive until its natural
end.

So we decided to implement a different solution for our time control.

We integrate a watchdog mechanism into one of our 'runtime libraries'.
When a test case is started, a watchdog is started in background, too.
When a testcase ends, it generates a normalized minute about its status
(passed, failed, aborted, ...) and some other stuff.
If a testcase is blocked and/or the watchdog finds out, that there is a
timeout error,
the watchdog generates a 'timeout' minute and exits immediately, this way
aborting the testcase.

So we get a uniform behaviour/interface of our testcases,
regardless if they are started under supervision of a tester,
or via the regression script.

Many thanks for help,
Chris

"Ara.T.Howard" <Ara.T.Howard@noaa.gov> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.60.0409130931040.12299@harp.ngdc.noaa.gov...

> Hi Ara !
>
> Many thanks for the info below.
> Unfortunately I'm not in the position to use extra packages
> (Sorry, I should have mentioned this in the posting),
> and my Ruby machine answers:
>
> ./fork_timeout.rb:7:in `fork': The fork() function is unimplemented on

this

> machine (NotImplementedError)
> from ./fork_timeout.rb:7:in `timeout'
> from ...
>
> Right at time I try to implement Robert's suggestion
> of popen and parallel Threads, but I got stuck, somehow.

perhaps something like this is what robert was suggesting, try some

windows

specific commands with it:

~ > cat popen_timeout.rb
module PopenTimeout
#{{{
   class TimeoutError < StandardError; end

   def timeout n_sec, cmd
#{{{
     t =
       Thread.new(cmd) do |cmd|
         pipe = IO::popen(cmd)
         stdout = pipe.read
         pipe.close
         status = $?.exitstatus
         [stdout, status]
       end

     sleep n_sec

     case t.status
       when NilClass
         raise t.value
       when FalseClass
         return t.value
       else
         t.kill
         raise TimeoutError, "<#{ n_sec }>"
     end
#}}}
   end
   module_function 'timeout'
   public 'timeout'
#}}}
end

if $0 == __FILE__
   stdout, status =
     PopenTimeout::timeout(2, 'sleep 1 && echo 42')

   puts stdout
   puts status

   stdout, status =
     PopenTimeout::timeout(1, 'sleep 2 && echo 42')
end

> Maybe I have to find a completely different solution,
> e.g. passing control of time behaviour into called functionality.
> So it will return at all means, either regularly or 'killing' itself.
>
> Many thanks (I could learn a lot) and best regards from Vienna
> Chris
>
> PS: What (kind of) organization is "noaa.gov" ?

national oceananic and atmouspheric administration, check out

   Solar-Terrestrial Physics Data | NCEI

to see what i do. we work with satelite imagery showing the nighttime

lights

···

On Mon, 13 Sep 2004, Neubauer Christoph wrote:
of earth from space like

   http://dmsp.ngdc.noaa.gov/html/night_light_posters.html

> PPS: I like 'your' Dogen quotation !

thanks - it's a constant reminder to myself to take things in stride.

you are in germany? what's the programming market like there? we are
thinking of moving! :wink:

-a
--

============================================================================

> EMAIL :: Ara [dot] T [dot] Howard [at] noaa [dot] gov
> PHONE :: 303.497.6469
> A flower falls, even though we love it;
> and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.
> --Dogen

============================================================================