[GRASS-dev] [GRASS GIS] #2395: Startup runs as in Cygwin when CYGWIN is set although running as native application

[GRASS GIS]

#2395: Startup runs as in Cygwin when CYGWIN is set although running as native
application
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 Reporter:  wenzeslaus                                |       Owner:  grass-dev@…              
     Type:  defect                                    |      Status:  new                      
 Priority:  normal                                    |   Milestone:  7.0.0                    
Component:  Startup                                   |     Version:  svn-releasebranch70      
 Keywords:  cygwin, wingrass, environmetal variables  |    Platform:  MSWindows 8              
      Cpu:  Unspecified                               |  
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Comment(by wenzeslaus):

 Replying to [comment:1 glynn]:
 > Replying to [ticket:2395 wenzeslaus]:
 >
 > > 1) Do you need CYGWIN variable in you environment for some reason?
 >
 > FWIW, the CYGWIN variable isn't even set in my Cygwin64 environment, so
 checking it may lead to false negatives as well as false positives.
 >
 > > 2) For GRASS GIS, is there some better way of getting to know if it is
 running as Cygwin application?
 >
 > For a Python script, sys.platform will tell you if you're running a
 Cygwin version of Python.
 >

 So, I will change this accoring to [http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail
 /grass-user/2014-August/070728.html GRASS-user Grass-7.0 beta3 fails to
 launch]:

 {{{
 if sys.platform == 'cygwin':
 }}}

 I'm just not sure from the documentation if "equals", "startswith", or
 "in" is more appropriate.

 > Another option would be to check for the presence of the variable SHELL
 in the environment. If it doesn't exist, GRASS is probably being launched
 from a desktop icon or start menu entry, in which case the GUI should be
 started directly. If SHELL is set, GRASS should spawn a session using that
 shell, in the current console.
 >

 According to comment and the source code I think that `SHELL` variable
 might be somehow wrong sometimes.

  * source:grass/trunk/lib/init/grass.py#L906

 > Ideally, we shouldn't be trying to distinguish Cygwin from other Unix
 platforms except where this turns out to be strictly necessary.
 >
 Yes, we would be defeating the purpose of Unix and Cygwin then but I guess
 this is the exception.

 > > 3) Is this Cygwin part even needed? We are not relying on Cygwin in
 GRASS GIS 7 anymore and we don't plan to do so, as far as I know. So, a
 possile solution is just removing this Cygwin-related code.
 >
 > This isn't version-specific. For a long time, we have offered GRASS for
 both (native) Windows and Cygwin. Some Windows users (e.g. those who
 already use Cygwin for other reasons) may prefer the Cygwin version.
 >
 OK, if we still support Cygwin and it is still possible to install GRASS
 GIS like this we need to keep the code there.

-- 
Ticket URL: <http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/2395#comment:9>
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>