[kbd] [Fwd: Re: [Pkg-kbd-devel] kbd -b needlessly requires VT access]

At the request of Andreas, I am forwarding this bug I reported on Debian.
Briefly, loadkeys in -b mode is just a file utility, converting text
format to binary.  And yet the code is structured so that a console
FD must be opened, needlessly requiring the file conversion to be run
in a console environment.

Thanks,
Andy Valencia


---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Re: [Pkg-kbd-devel] kbd -b needlessly requires VT access
From:    "Andreas Henriksson" <[email protected]>
Date:    Sun, August 28, 2016 4:59 am
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Andy Valencia.

On Fri, Aug 26, 2016 at 08:54:53AM -0700, Andy Valencia wrote:
> When generating a binary map using "loadkeys -b" to target a smaller
> device, the command fails unless run in an environment where it can
> access a console device for itself.  This is due to its unconditional
> use of getfd(), even when all the command is going to do is write
> out a binary version of its input file.

I see that the fd returned from getfd is only conditionally used, but
the call to getfd will result in exit(1) being called if getfd is
about to fail. This indeed sounds suboptimal.
Not sure if moving the getfd call to where fd is used, or if guarding
the early call to getfd with the same guards that will make use
of getfd, is the best option.

Could you please try to contact the upstream development list about
this issue?

https://lists.altlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/kbd

Regards,
Andreas Henriksson