bug#41634: 'timeout' returning 124 and 133

[Bernhard Voelker]

On 2020-07-04 00:57, Jonny Grant wrote:
> May I ask if that exit status 137 could be clarified as 128+9, where 9 is
> the KILL signal number in this example please. I've pasted a patch below.

Thanks for the patch - this is always a great basis for discussions.

Well, this 128+9 arithmetic is explained just a couple of lines above,
i.e., where all the value for the exit status are described.
So adding it here again looks like repetition to me.

> Another question, for me it wasn't clear that the "-k 3s" was cumulative
> with the duration 5, so the total being 8. I thought both durations
> both counted from when the command was invoked.
> 
> https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/timeout-invocation.html#timeout-invocation
> ‘-k duration’
> ‘--kill-after=duration’
> Ensure the monitored command is killed by also sending a ‘KILL’ signal,
> after the specified duration. Without this option, if the selected signal
> proves not to be fatal, timeout does not kill the command.
> 
> Could this be clarified as "after the existing duration is added to
> this specified duration, cumulatively from when the command is invoked."?
> I can make another patch if this would be fine, and my understanding is 
> correct.

Good catch, this is only documented in --help output (and therefore in 
timeout.1):

  -k, --kill-after=DURATION
                 also send a KILL signal if COMMAND is still running
                   this long after the initial signal was sent

What about the attached?

Thanks & have a nice day,
Berny

0001-doc-clarify-timeout-k-behavior.patch
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