Interaction with non-cygwin programs

Interaction with non-cygwin programs

[Federico Kircheis]

I've lately updated Windows to the latest version, and cygwin too (I had 
something previous to 3.0).

I've read that interaction with non-cygwin programs should be better 
because of the console-helper.


But in my daily usage the integration is worse, programs like tmux or 
even less seems to have more issues than before.


For example

   /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less

used to work correctly.
Currently if I press arrow down or up less does not scroll up or down 
anymore and "ESC[" appears briefly at the top-left of the console.

Of course i could install subversion inside cygwin, as

svn log | less

works without issues, but it's just an example.
git, adb, and other programs trigger the same behavior.


Also less is not the only program, tmux for example has similar issues.

I believe the underlying issue is console-helper but I'm not sure how I 
could test it, as I did, for example, not find how I could disable it, 
or if the issue is already known.

I'm able to reproduce the issue on a clean machine, so it should not be 
a configuration issue on my side.

Re: Interaction with non-cygwin programs

[Brian Inglis]

On 2020-10-24 09:04, Federico Kircheis via Cygwin wrote:
> I've lately updated Windows to the latest version, and cygwin too (I had
> something previous to 3.0).
> I've read that interaction with non-cygwin programs should be better because of
> the console-helper.
> But in my daily usage the integration is worse, programs like tmux or even less
> seems to have more issues than before.
> For example
>   /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
> used to work correctly.
> Currently if I press arrow down or up less does not scroll up or down anymore
> and "ESC[" appears briefly at the top-left of the console.
> 
> Of course i could install subversion inside cygwin, as
> svn log | less
> works without issues, but it's just an example.
> git, adb, and other programs trigger the same behavior.
> Also less is not the only program, tmux for example has similar issues.
> 
> I believe the underlying issue is console-helper but I'm not sure how I could
> test it, as I did, for example, not find how I could disable it, or if the issue
> is already known.
> 
> I'm able to reproduce the issue on a clean machine, so it should not be a
> configuration issue on my side.

I think setting CYGWIN=disable_pcon in your user or system environment should
disable it: search for that setting for more information.

-- 
Take care. Thanks, Brian Inglis, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

This email may be disturbing to some readers as it contains
too much technical detail. Reader discretion is advised.
[Data in binary units and prefixes, physical quantities in SI.]

Re: Interaction with non-cygwin programs

[Federico Kircheis]

On 10/24/20 8:10 PM, Brian Inglis wrote:
> On 2020-10-24 09:04, Federico Kircheis via Cygwin wrote:
>> I've lately updated Windows to the latest version, and cygwin too (I had
>> something previous to 3.0).
>> I've read that interaction with non-cygwin programs should be better because of
>> the console-helper.
>> But in my daily usage the integration is worse, programs like tmux or even less
>> seems to have more issues than before.
>> For example
>>    /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
>> used to work correctly.
>> Currently if I press arrow down or up less does not scroll up or down anymore
>> and "ESC[" appears briefly at the top-left of the console.
>>
>> Of course i could install subversion inside cygwin, as
>> svn log | less
>> works without issues, but it's just an example.
>> git, adb, and other programs trigger the same behavior.
>> Also less is not the only program, tmux for example has similar issues.
>>
>> I believe the underlying issue is console-helper but I'm not sure how I could
>> test it, as I did, for example, not find how I could disable it, or if the issue
>> is already known.
>>
>> I'm able to reproduce the issue on a clean machine, so it should not be a
>> configuration issue on my side.
> 
> I think setting CYGWIN=disable_pcon in your user or system environment should
> disable it: search for that setting for more information.
> 

Thank you, setting CYGWIN to disable_pcon as environment variable did 
the trick with, I'll observe in the next days if all my issues are 
really gone.

Unfortunately it seems that it is only possible to set this variable 
globally, correct?

It is not possible, for example, to set it from bash only for some 
processes.

AFAIK I cannot have both

/cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less

and

/cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/Python/Python39/python

working correctly, as the first works with CYGWIN=disable_pcon and the 
second not.

Re: Interaction with non-cygwin programs

[Brian Inglis]

On 2020-10-24 13:11, Federico Kircheis via Cygwin wrote:
> On 10/24/20 8:10 PM, Brian Inglis wrote:
>> On 2020-10-24 09:04, Federico Kircheis via Cygwin wrote:
>>> I've lately updated Windows to the latest version, and cygwin too (I had
>>> something previous to 3.0).
>>> I've read that interaction with non-cygwin programs should be better because of
>>> the console-helper.
>>> But in my daily usage the integration is worse, programs like tmux or even less
>>> seems to have more issues than before.
>>> For example
>>>    /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
>>> used to work correctly.
>>> Currently if I press arrow down or up less does not scroll up or down anymore
>>> and "ESC[" appears briefly at the top-left of the console.
>>>
>>> Of course i could install subversion inside cygwin, as
>>> svn log | less
>>> works without issues, but it's just an example.
>>> git, adb, and other programs trigger the same behavior.
>>> Also less is not the only program, tmux for example has similar issues.
>>>
>>> I believe the underlying issue is console-helper but I'm not sure how I could
>>> test it, as I did, for example, not find how I could disable it, or if the issue
>>> is already known.
>>>
>>> I'm able to reproduce the issue on a clean machine, so it should not be a
>>> configuration issue on my side.
>>
>> I think setting CYGWIN=disable_pcon in your user or system environment should
>> disable it: search for that setting for more information.
>>
> 
> Thank you, setting CYGWIN to disable_pcon as environment variable did the trick
> with, I'll observe in the next days if all my issues are really gone.
> 
> Unfortunately it seems that it is only possible to set this variable globally,
> correct?
> 
> It is not possible, for example, to set it from bash only for some processes.
> 
> AFAIK I cannot have both
> 
> /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
> 
> and
> 
> /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/Python/Python39/python
> 
> working correctly, as the first works with CYGWIN=disable_pcon and the second not.

I doubt it, but you could try if it could work using e.g.

$ alias wpython='CYGWIN="" /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/Python/Python39/python'
$ wpython ...

-- 
Take care. Thanks, Brian Inglis, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

This email may be disturbing to some readers as it contains
too much technical detail. Reader discretion is advised.
[Data in binary units and prefixes, physical quantities in SI.]

Re: Interaction with non-cygwin programs

[Federico Kircheis]

On 10/24/20 9:35 PM, Brian Inglis wrote:
> On 2020-10-24 13:11, Federico Kircheis via Cygwin wrote:
>> On 10/24/20 8:10 PM, Brian Inglis wrote:
>>> On 2020-10-24 09:04, Federico Kircheis via Cygwin wrote:
>>>> I've lately updated Windows to the latest version, and cygwin too (I had
>>>> something previous to 3.0).
>>>> I've read that interaction with non-cygwin programs should be better because of
>>>> the console-helper.
>>>> But in my daily usage the integration is worse, programs like tmux or even less
>>>> seems to have more issues than before.
>>>> For example
>>>>     /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
>>>> used to work correctly.
>>>> Currently if I press arrow down or up less does not scroll up or down anymore
>>>> and "ESC[" appears briefly at the top-left of the console.
>>>>
>>>> Of course i could install subversion inside cygwin, as
>>>> svn log | less
>>>> works without issues, but it's just an example.
>>>> git, adb, and other programs trigger the same behavior.
>>>> Also less is not the only program, tmux for example has similar issues.
>>>>
>>>> I believe the underlying issue is console-helper but I'm not sure how I could
>>>> test it, as I did, for example, not find how I could disable it, or if the issue
>>>> is already known.
>>>>
>>>> I'm able to reproduce the issue on a clean machine, so it should not be a
>>>> configuration issue on my side.
>>>
>>> I think setting CYGWIN=disable_pcon in your user or system environment should
>>> disable it: search for that setting for more information.
>>>
>>
>> Thank you, setting CYGWIN to disable_pcon as environment variable did the trick
>> with, I'll observe in the next days if all my issues are really gone.
>>
>> Unfortunately it seems that it is only possible to set this variable globally,
>> correct?
>>
>> It is not possible, for example, to set it from bash only for some processes.
>>
>> AFAIK I cannot have both
>>
>> /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
>>
>> and
>>
>> /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/Python/Python39/python
>>
>> working correctly, as the first works with CYGWIN=disable_pcon and the second not.
> 
> I doubt it, but you could try if it could work using e.g.
> 
> $ alias wpython='CYGWIN="" /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/Python/Python39/python'
> $ wpython ...
> 

No, unfortunately it does not work...

It's a shame, but I think I'll leave pcon disabled at the moment... or 
is there anything else I could try?
AFAIK pcon is relatively new, so I'm hoping that it will mature soon enough.

Re: Interaction with non-cygwin programs

[Takashi Yano]

On Sat, 24 Oct 2020 17:04:59 +0200
Federico Kircheis via Cygwin <cygwin@cygwin.com> wrote:
> I've lately updated Windows to the latest version, and cygwin too (I had 
> something previous to 3.0).
> 
> I've read that interaction with non-cygwin programs should be better 
> because of the console-helper.
> 
> 
> But in my daily usage the integration is worse, programs like tmux or 
> even less seems to have more issues than before.
> 
> 
> For example
> 
>    /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
> 
> used to work correctly.
> Currently if I press arrow down or up less does not scroll up or down 
> anymore and "ESC[" appears briefly at the top-left of the console.
> 
> Of course i could install subversion inside cygwin, as
> 
> svn log | less
> 
> works without issues, but it's just an example.
> git, adb, and other programs trigger the same behavior.
> 
> 
> Also less is not the only program, tmux for example has similar issues.
> 
> I believe the underlying issue is console-helper but I'm not sure how I 
> could test it, as I did, for example, not find how I could disable it, 
> or if the issue is already known.
> 
> I'm able to reproduce the issue on a clean machine, so it should not be 
> a configuration issue on my side.

Could you please try cygwin latest snapshot?
https://cygwin.com/snapshots/

-- 
Takashi Yano <takashi.yano@nifty.ne.jp>

Re: Interaction with non-cygwin programs

[Federico Kircheis]

On 25/10/2020 11.12, Takashi Yano wrote:
> On Sat, 24 Oct 2020 17:04:59 +0200
> Federico Kircheis via Cygwin <cygwin@cygwin.com> wrote:
>> I've lately updated Windows to the latest version, and cygwin too (I had
>> something previous to 3.0).
>>
>> I've read that interaction with non-cygwin programs should be better
>> because of the console-helper.
>>
>>
>> But in my daily usage the integration is worse, programs like tmux or
>> even less seems to have more issues than before.
>>
>>
>> For example
>>
>>     /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
>>
>> used to work correctly.
>> Currently if I press arrow down or up less does not scroll up or down
>> anymore and "ESC[" appears briefly at the top-left of the console.
>>
>> Of course i could install subversion inside cygwin, as
>>
>> svn log | less
>>
>> works without issues, but it's just an example.
>> git, adb, and other programs trigger the same behavior.
>>
>>
>> Also less is not the only program, tmux for example has similar issues.
>>
>> I believe the underlying issue is console-helper but I'm not sure how I
>> could test it, as I did, for example, not find how I could disable it,
>> or if the issue is already known.
>>
>> I'm able to reproduce the issue on a clean machine, so it should not be
>> a configuration issue on my side.
> 
> Could you please try cygwin latest snapshot?
> https://cygwin.com/snapshots/
> 

Thank you, tried and it seems to work.

I could notice only one minor issue: when making changing the terminal 
size with "Wind+arrow"with

/cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less

less does not seem to acknowledge the new terminal size, while

svn log | less

does.
If using the mouse and resizing the terminal by hand, both commands seem 
to behave the same.

Re: Interaction with non-cygwin programs

[Takashi Yano]

On Mon, 26 Oct 2020 07:05:30 +0100
Federico Kircheis wrote:
> On 25/10/2020 11.12, Takashi Yano wrote:
> > On Sat, 24 Oct 2020 17:04:59 +0200
> > Federico Kircheis via Cygwin <cygwin@cygwin.com> wrote:
> >> I've lately updated Windows to the latest version, and cygwin too (I had
> >> something previous to 3.0).
> >>
> >> I've read that interaction with non-cygwin programs should be better
> >> because of the console-helper.
> >>
> >>
> >> But in my daily usage the integration is worse, programs like tmux or
> >> even less seems to have more issues than before.
> >>
> >>
> >> For example
> >>
> >>     /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
> >>
> >> used to work correctly.
> >> Currently if I press arrow down or up less does not scroll up or down
> >> anymore and "ESC[" appears briefly at the top-left of the console.
> >>
> >> Of course i could install subversion inside cygwin, as
> >>
> >> svn log | less
> >>
> >> works without issues, but it's just an example.
> >> git, adb, and other programs trigger the same behavior.
> >>
> >>
> >> Also less is not the only program, tmux for example has similar issues.
> >>
> >> I believe the underlying issue is console-helper but I'm not sure how I
> >> could test it, as I did, for example, not find how I could disable it,
> >> or if the issue is already known.
> >>
> >> I'm able to reproduce the issue on a clean machine, so it should not be
> >> a configuration issue on my side.
> > 
> > Could you please try cygwin latest snapshot?
> > https://cygwin.com/snapshots/
> > 
> 
> Thank you, tried and it seems to work.
> 
> I could notice only one minor issue: when making changing the terminal 
> size with "Wind+arrow"with
> 
> /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
> 
> less does not seem to acknowledge the new terminal size, while
> 
> svn log | less
> 
> does.
> If using the mouse and resizing the terminal by hand, both commands seem 
> to behave the same.

Thanks for the report. However, I cannot reproduce that.

1) What windows version are you using? (such as Win10 1909)
2) What less version are you using? (which less, and cygcheck -c less)

-- 
Takashi Yano <takashi.yano@nifty.ne.jp>

Re: Interaction with non-cygwin programs

[Takashi Yano]

On Mon, 26 Oct 2020 10:56:14 +0100
Federico Kircheis wrote:
> On 26/10/2020 09.58, Takashi Yano wrote:
> > On Mon, 26 Oct 2020 07:05:30 +0100
> > Federico Kircheis wrote:
> >> On 25/10/2020 11.12, Takashi Yano wrote:
> >>> On Sat, 24 Oct 2020 17:04:59 +0200
> >>> Federico Kircheis via Cygwin <cygwin@cygwin.com> wrote:
> >>>> I've lately updated Windows to the latest version, and cygwin too (I had
> >>>> something previous to 3.0).
> >>>>
> >>>> I've read that interaction with non-cygwin programs should be better
> >>>> because of the console-helper.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> But in my daily usage the integration is worse, programs like tmux or
> >>>> even less seems to have more issues than before.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> For example
> >>>>
> >>>>      /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
> >>>>
> >>>> used to work correctly.
> >>>> Currently if I press arrow down or up less does not scroll up or down
> >>>> anymore and "ESC[" appears briefly at the top-left of the console.
> >>>>
> >>>> Of course i could install subversion inside cygwin, as
> >>>>
> >>>> svn log | less
> >>>>
> >>>> works without issues, but it's just an example.
> >>>> git, adb, and other programs trigger the same behavior.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Also less is not the only program, tmux for example has similar issues.
> >>>>
> >>>> I believe the underlying issue is console-helper but I'm not sure how I
> >>>> could test it, as I did, for example, not find how I could disable it,
> >>>> or if the issue is already known.
> >>>>
> >>>> I'm able to reproduce the issue on a clean machine, so it should not be
> >>>> a configuration issue on my side.
> >>>
> >>> Could you please try cygwin latest snapshot?
> >>> https://cygwin.com/snapshots/
> >>>
> >>
> >> Thank you, tried and it seems to work.
> >>
> >> I could notice only one minor issue: when making changing the terminal
> >> size with "Win+arrow" with
> >>
> >> /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
> >>
> >> less does not seem to acknowledge the new terminal size, while
> >>
> >> svn log | less
> >>
> >> does.
> >> If using the mouse and resizing the terminal by hand, both commands seem
> >> to behave the same.
> > 
> > Thanks for the report. However, I cannot reproduce that.
> > 
> > 1) What windows version are you using? (such as Win10 1909)
> > 2) What less version are you using? (which less, and cygcheck -c less)
> > 
> 
> Microsoft Windows Version 1909 (OS Build 18363.1171)
> 
> "which less" reports /usr/bin/less
> 
> "cygcheck -c less" gives me version 551-1
> 
> I just noticed that the behavior I described is not always reproducible.
> 
> Sometimes resizing with "Win+arrow" works correctly, other times it does 
> not.
> 
> I restarted every time the program
> 
> /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files/TortoiseSVN/bin/svn log | less
> 
> to test the behavior.
> 
> See attached video, the first time it worked correctly, the second, 
> without AFAIK any change, not.

Thank you for the information. I could reproduce the problem.
Moreover, I found the cause and fixed that.

I will submit a patch for this issue shortly.

-- 
Takashi Yano <takashi.yano@nifty.ne.jp>