os.popen() failing under ipython+cygwin, I'm stumped.

[Fernando Perez]

Hi all,

I'm reaching out to the cygwin wizards out there, because I have a problem I
don't know how to even begin attacking.  An IPython user is having problems
with the help() command under cygwin, and since I only have access to linux
boxes, I have a real hard time helping him out.

Brief background: ipython (http://ipython.scipy.org) is a free replacement for
the standard python interpreter with a ton of added features.  It is pure
python code, with no C extensions at all.

We've narrowed it down to the following.  Under ipython, here is what he gets
with a popen() call:

,---
| Python 2.3.3 (#1, Dec 30 2003, 08:29:25) 
| Type "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
| 
| IPython 0.5.0 -- An enhanced Interactive Python.
| ?       -> Introduction to IPython's features.
| @magic  -> Information about IPython's 'magic' @ functions.
| help    -> Python's own help system.
| object? -> Details about 'object'. ?object also works, ?? prints more.
| 1% import os
| 2% xmode Verbose
| Exception reporting mode: Verbose
| 3% pipe=os.popen('less','w')
|      10 [main] python2.3 2896 sync_with_child: child 3032(0x6D4) died before
initialization with status code 0x1
|    9375 [main] python2.3 2896 sync_with_child: *** child state child loading
dlls
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
| OSError                                   Traceback (most recent call last)
| 
| /home/thorsten/<console> 
| 
| OSError: [Errno 11] Resource temporarily unavailable

Under a normal python shell, the popen() call goes through ok.  Note that the
[main] errors are _above_ the traceback, which means they are being printed
straight to stdout/err by the python core, not through the normal traceback
mechanisms.  I've never seen the 'Resource temporarily unavailable' error
before, and I don't really know what can be going on here.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

f.