Vista - FEATURE REQUEST: default blocking of child processes should be the same for GUI and Console programs

If you spawn an editor program or a calculator program or some other utility
program, it shouldn't matter whether the program is console-based or
GUI-based. Whether or not the child process blocks should be consistent.

Then, scripts can be written without needing to worry about a program
suddenly blocking because the user replaced it with a console version, or
(what's worse) not blocking because the user replaced a console program with
a GUI one. Especially in the case where that the program is operating on a
temporary file, say, and the script expects the program to finish using the
file before returning.

You guys are all for consistency, so you should be consistent about the way
processes are spawned, too, which is a core feature of a shell. :-)

This goes hand in hand with my feature request about being able to control
whether a child process will block.

Hi Adam,

I haven't looked at your many suggestions yet. What caught my eye,
apart from the number of posts from you, is that you designate
yourself as Adam Milazzo [MSFT]. That is how Microsoft employees
*posting as Microsoft employees* designate themselves.

I assume that doesn't apply to you. I would suggest that you remove
the designation assuming it doesn't apply.

A second general point is that the official way to make suggestions is
to sign up on http://connect.microsoft.com join the PowerShell group
and submit feedback there. If you make the suggestion using that route
and post the URL back here then others can vote for your suggestion,
assuming they agree with it and attach importance to it.

Andrew Watt MVP

On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 18:12:57 -0700, "Adam Milazzo [MSFT]"
<adamm@san.rr.com> wrote:

>If you spawn an editor program or a calculator program or some other utility
>program, it shouldn't matter whether the program is console-based or
>GUI-based. Whether or not the child process blocks should be consistent.
>
>Then, scripts can be written without needing to worry about a program
>suddenly blocking because the user replaced it with a console version, or
>(what's worse) not blocking because the user replaced a console program with
>a GUI one. Especially in the case where that the program is operating on a
>temporary file, say, and the script expects the program to finish using the
>file before returning.
>
>You guys are all for consistency, so you should be consistent about the way
>processes are spawned, too, which is a core feature of a shell. :-)
>
>This goes hand in hand with my feature request about being able to control
>whether a child process will block.
>

Andrew Watt [MVP] wrote:
> Hi Adam,
>
> I haven't looked at your many suggestions yet. What caught my eye,
> apart from the number of posts from you, is that you designate
> yourself as Adam Milazzo [MSFT]. That is how Microsoft employees
> *posting as Microsoft employees* designate themselves.
Now I'm curious. Are you saying that people change their name in their
mail client depending on the type of message they're posting?

> A second general point is that the official way to make suggestions is
> to sign up on http://connect.microsoft.com join the PowerShell group
> and submit feedback there. If you make the suggestion using that route
> and post the URL back here then others can vote for your suggestion,
> assuming they agree with it and attach importance to it.
Thanks, I wasn't aware of that.

One of the members of the PowerShell dev team directed me to the
newsgroup, but I'll look at that web site as well.

-- Adam