Re: [gentoo-user] debugging init scripts

["Thomas Tuttle" <gentoo@ttuttle.net>]

On Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:15:40 +0100, "Uwe Thiem" <uwix@iway.na> said:
> On 12 July 2007, Frank Wilson wrote:
> > I'm trying to debug an init script / daemon I'm trying to run. I can't
> > seem to print the  debug output to print to a file. For example I
> > enter:
> >
> > /etc/init.d/apache2 restart --debug >> /root/apache2.debug
> >
> > or
> >
> > /etc/init.d/apache2 restart --debug > /root/apache2.debug
> >
> > but I get none of the debug output. Also less insists that
> > /root/apache2.debug is a binary file... not sure why.
> 
> First of all, you should do something like "/etc/init.d/apache2 
> restart --debug > /root/apache2.debug 2>&1" to catch both, standard and
> error 
> output.

Yes, I agree.

> Still, this won't work in your case. The output you usually see on
> screen, is 
> *not* generated by the script (or the executing shell) but by the
> commands 
> used in the script.

If it's generated by a command used in the script, it will be sent to
the file.  stdout is stdout, and if it's redirected to a file in the
shell running the script, it will go to the same place in any commands
run by that shell, unless they reopen it to another file.

> So keep a backup of the original script, then dive into it with your
> favourite 
> editor and append ">> /root/apache2.debug 2>&1" to all relevant commands.

I don't think you need to.

At worst, wrap the command in parentheses to run it in a subshell, like
this:

( /etc/init.d/apache2 restart --debug ) > /root/apache2.debug 2>&1

But you shouldn't need that.

Just to get this straight... you're trying to capture the output of the
initscript, not of Apache itself, right?

And as for less thinking it's a binary file, that's because the Gentoo
initscripts change the text color using escape codes, which are
considered binary by less.  (Specifically, the escape character, ASCII
27, is probably considered binary.)

Hope this helps,

Thomas Tuttle
-- 
Thomas Tuttle - ttuttle@ttuttle.net - http://www.ttuttle.net/

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