Package: screen
Version: 4.0.3-0.3
Severity: normal

At work, we automate things with screen, invoked from shell scripts. Among
other things, the scripts create new, named windows and turn on logging for
them. This broke when we upgraded from 4.0.2 to screen 4.0.3.

(Actually, we run RedHat Enterprise Linux, but the problem is repeatable with
Debian.  Either upstream 4.0.3 did this, or RH and Debian include the same
bad patch.)

The symptom is that if you create windows too fast (by calling the screen 
binary)
and send commands too fast (by calling screen -X cmd) some of them will fail.
It's easy to see if you start a screen and run this shell script:

------------------------------
#!/bin/sh

[ -z "$STY" ] && {
    echo "no screen"
    exit 1
}

mkdir -p /tmp/qgrajor || exit 1

for name in $(seq 1 5) ; do
    name="screen_$name"
    screen -t "$name" sort
    # sleep 1 # enabling this delay "fixes" the problem
    screen -p "$name" -X logfile "/tmp/bug-$name"
    screen -p "$name" -X log on
done
------------------------------

What typically happens is that screen_5 doesn't get logging enabled,
but other problems may happen too (other windows not having logging,
maybe also windows not opening).

I feel this is a serious regression because it prevents automation. I can add
a delay like the one commented out above, but I have no idea if one second
is always sufficient. It's not a good workaround.

regards,
Jorgen

-- System Information:
Debian Release: 4.0
  APT prefers stable
  APT policy: (500, 'stable')
Architecture: powerpc (ppc)
Shell:  /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash
Kernel: Linux 2.6.18-3-powerpc
Locale: LANG=sv_SE.utf8, LC_CTYPE=sv_SE.utf8 (charmap=UTF-8)

Versions of packages screen depends on:
ii  base-passwd            3.5.11            Debian base system master password
ii  debconf [debconf-2.0]  1.5.11etch2       Debian configuration management sy
ii  libc6                  2.3.6.ds1-13etch7 GNU C Library: Shared libraries
ii  libncursesw5           5.5-5             Shared libraries for terminal hand
ii  libpam0g               0.79-5            Pluggable Authentication Modules l
ii  passwd                 1:4.0.18.1-7      change and administer password and

screen recommends no packages.

-- debconf information:
  screen/old_upgrade_prompt: false



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