[GRASS-dev] [GRASS GIS] #2572: grass command welcomes batch job and requires user input

[GRASS GIS]

#2572: grass command welcomes batch job and requires user input
--------------------------------------------+-------------------------------
 Reporter:  wenzeslaus                      |       Owner:  grass-dev@…              
     Type:  defect                          |      Status:  new                      
 Priority:  minor                           |   Milestone:  6.4.5                    
Component:  Startup                         |     Version:  6.4.4                    
 Keywords:  GRASS_BATCH_JOB, rc file, init  |    Platform:  Linux                    
      Cpu:  Unspecified                     |  
--------------------------------------------+-------------------------------
 When calling GRASS GIS to do a batch job without having rc file created,
 one gets:

 {{{
 WELCOME TO GRASS              Version 6.4.4         2014
 ...
       - Current catalog of available computer maps
 ...
 Hit RETURN to continue
 }}}

 This warm welcome is intended for user but when a GRASS_BATCH_JOB is set,
 this should not be executed because there is usually nobody to hit RETURN
 since the process is executed from some program.

 Test setup:

 {{{
 cat > test_script.sh <<EOF
 echo "Hello from GRASS GIS" > test_file.txt
 date >> test_file.txt
 EOF
 }}}

 {{{
 export GRASS_BATCH_JOB=$PWD/test_script.sh
 }}}

 Test:

 {{{
 rm ~/.grassrc6
 grass64 ~/grassdata/nc_spm_08_grass7_tests/user1
 }}}

 Here is a patch which works for me for version 6.4:

 {{{
 #!diff
 Index: lib/init/init.sh
 ===================================================================
 --- lib/init/init.sh    (revision 64329)
 +++ lib/init/init.sh    (working copy)
 @@ -421,7 +421,7 @@
  fi

  # First time user - GISRC is defined in the GRASS script
 -if [ ! -f "$GISRC" ] ; then
 +if [ ! -f "$GISRC" -a ! -n "$GRASS_BATCH_JOB" ] ; then

      if [ ! -f "$GISBASE/locale/$LCL/etc/grass_intro" ] ; then
         cat "$ETC/grass_intro"
 }}}

 I'm not sure if it is correctly implemented because it causes that the rc
 file (`~/.grassrc6`) is not created (using the `$HOME` and `<UNKNOWN>`).
 It does not seem useful anyway but I guess that there is some reason for
 it.

 Basically the same patch can be applied to version 7. Check
 `GRASS_BATCH_JOB` (`batch_job`) before calling `grass_intro()`. I'm just
 don't have the full understanding of the code, for example I'm not sure
 how rc file is supposed to be handled with `GRASS_BATCH_JOB`
 (source:grass/trunk/lib/init/grass.py?rev=64377#L1339).

 A workaround for version 6.4 is to create a `.grassrc6` file in directory
 specified by `$HOME` with some reasonable content (e.g. a copy of existing
 `.grassrc6` from different user).

 Related:
  * https://hub.qgis.org/issues/5644
  * http://osgeo-org.1560.x6.nabble.com/grass-shell-td3901230.html

-- 
Ticket URL: <http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/2572>
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>