From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me
X-Spam-Level: 
X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham
	autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4
X-Google-Thread: 103376,f4e8c6faa68f2ed1
X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public,usenet
X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit
Path: 
 g2news1.google.com!news4.google.com!feeder1-2.proxad.net!proxad.net!feeder1-1.proxad.net!club-internet.fr!feedme-small.clubint.net!nuzba.szn.dk!news.jacob-sparre.dk!pnx.dk!not-for-mail
From: Jacob Sparre Andersen <sparre@nbi.dk>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: Start_Process_Search error detection
Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:26:21 +0100
Organization: Jacob's private Usenet server
Message-ID: <yge3arw54gi.fsf@hugsarin.dmusyd.edu>
References: <xrqdnQ1ik7jg0C_anZ2dnUVZ_tyknZ2d@giganews.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: taasingegade.news.jacob-sparre.dk
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
X-Trace: jacob-sparre.dk 1202977581 21250 85.82.239.166 (14 Feb 2008 08:26:21
 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: news@jacob-sparre.dk
NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 08:26:21 +0000 (UTC)
User-Agent: Gnus/5.110006 (No Gnus v0.6) Emacs/21.4 (gnu/linux)
Cancel-Lock: sha1:Wz0SaUet/NDcsuHIZH/kRJ+KaU8=
Xref: g2news1.google.com comp.lang.ada:19787
Date: 2008-02-14T09:26:21+01:00
List-Id: <comp.lang.ada>

David Shochat <shochatd@yahoo.com> writes:

> Posix/Ada, package Posix_Process_Primitives, includes a procedure
> Start_Process_Search which searches for the requested program using
> the value of the PATH environment variable. My question is, how do
> you detect that the search failed (or will fail)? The package spec
> we have is virtually devoid of documentation. Checking the returned
> process id does not work. I get a nonzero process id even when I
> pass a fictitious name.  Also, no exception is raised. I could parse
> $PATH and check each directory, but there must be a better way. This
> is Apex on Solaris.

I haven't got any documentation either, but the Florist implementation
of POSIX.Process_Primitives.Start_Process_Search will give you a
negative value in the formal parameter Child, if the creation of a new
process failed.  If the creation didn't fail, you can use
POSIX.Process_Primitives.Wait_For_Chilt_Process to see if the child
process exited with the status Failed_Creation_Exit.

Greetings,

Jacob
-- 
"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!"