If I build the latest XEmacs on Linux with getpt(), I get these warnings: /project/xemacs/ws/ia64/src/process.h:143: warning: `PTY_ITERATION' redefined s/linux.h:216: warning: this is the location of the previous definition /project/xemacs/ws/ia64/src/process.h:146: warning: `PTY_OPEN' redefined s/linux.h:228: warning: this is the location of the previous definition /project/xemacs/ws/ia64/src/process.h:148: warning: `PTY_TTY_NAME_SPRINTF' redefined Inspection shows that we have similar code in src/process.h: #ifdef HAVE_GETPT #define PTY_ITERATION #define PTY_OPEN \ if ((fd = getpt()) < 0 || grantpt (fd) < 0 || unlockpt (fd) < 0) \ return -1; #define PTY_NAME_SPRINTF #define PTY_TTY_NAME_SPRINTF strcpy (pty_name, ptsname (fd)); #endif and src/s/linux.h: #ifdef HAVE_GETPT #define PTY_OPEN \ do { \ fd = getpt(); \ if (fcntl (fd, F_SETFL, O_NDELAY) == -1) \ fatal ("could not set master PTY to non-block mode"); \ } while (0) #else /* the master PTY device */ #define PTY_NAME_SPRINTF strcpy (pty_name, "/dev/ptmx"); #endif /* This sets the name of the slave side of the PTY. grantpt(3) and unlockpt(3) may fork a subprocess, so keep sigchld_handler() from intercepting that death. */ #define PTY_TTY_NAME_SPRINTF \ { \ char *ptsname(), *ptyname; \ \ sigblock(sigmask(SIGCHLD)); \ if (grantpt(fd) == -1) \ fatal("could not grant slave pty"); \ if (unlockpt(fd) == -1) \ fatal("could not unlock slave pty"); \ if (!(ptyname = ptsname(fd))) \ fatal ("could not enable slave pty"); \ strncpy(pty_name, ptyname, sizeof(pty_name)); \ pty_name[sizeof(pty_name) - 1] = 0; \ sigsetmask(siggetmask() & ~sigmask(SIGCHLD)); \ } I see various bugs and buglets: - before redefining macros like PTY_ITERATION, you need to #undef them first. - ptsname doesn't have a full prototype. Actually, we shouldn't have system functions declared in XEmacs source files anyways. - the functions grantpt() and unlockpt() are logically part of PTY_OPEN, not PTY_TTY_NAME_SPRINTF. What exactly were the bugs that this external patch was supposed to fix? Actually, this is the sort of thing I've maintained in the past. My approach would be to grok the pty_termios.c file and import its wisdom into XEmacs. For amusement, here is some code from pty_termios.c: } else if (grantpt(master)) { static char buf[500]; exp_pty_error = buf; sprintf(exp_pty_error,"grantpt(%s) failed - likely reason is that your system administrator (in a rage of blind passion to rid the system of security holes) removed setuid from the utility used internally by grantpt to change pty permissions. Tell your system admin to reestablish setuid on the utility. Get the utility name by running Expect under truss or trace.", expErrnoMsg(errno)); close(master); return(-1); } However, be careful. Expect is a full-time hobby for Don Libes, and fixing the pty code in XEmacs may become a similar full-time hobby. Martin