GNU bug report logs - #62695
Gzip error

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Mary-Anne Freckleton <M.Freckleton <at> derby.ac.uk>
To: "bug-gzip <at> gnu.org" <bug-gzip <at> gnu.org>
Cc: Yusra Siddiqui <Y.Siddiqui <at> derby.ac.uk>
Subject: Gzip error
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2023 09:25:50 +0000

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Good morning,

I am trying to gzip some files; however, I keep getting the error message displayed below in the screenshot. We have all of the text files in a folder and are not sure what we’re doing wrong (as we’ve never seen this issue before). Gzip is installed, and I am the owner of the text files.

Would you please be able to have a look at the error we are receiving and advise on what we may be doing wrong.

[cid:image001.png <at> 01D96872.27604000]

Thank you for your help.

With best wishes,
Mary-Anne


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[image001.png (image/png, inline)]

Message #8 received at 62695 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Petr Pisar <petr.pisar <at> atlas.cz>
To: "Mary-Anne Freckleton via GNU gzip discussion and bug reports."
 <bug-gzip <at> gnu.org>
Cc: 62695 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Yusra Siddiqui <Y.Siddiqui <at> derby.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: bug#62695: Gzip error
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2023 06:52:48 +0200

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V Thu, Apr 06, 2023 at 09:25:50AM +0000, Mary-Anne Freckleton via GNU gzip discussion and bug reports. napsal(a):
> I am trying to gzip some files; however, I keep getting the error message

The message is:

$ gzip FILE_NAME
gzip: FILE_NAME.gz: Operation not permitted

The cause it that you don't have a permission for writing into the directory
where gzip tries to create the FILE_NAME.gz archive.

Linux has a great tool for tracing what system calls programs do and that
shows it:

$ strace -- gzip sauer_client 
execve("/bin/gzip", ["gzip", "sauer_client"], 0x7ffe4c58d4e0 /* 75 vars */) = 0
[...]
openat(3, "sauer_client.gz", O_WRONLY|O_CREAT|O_EXCL, 0600) = -1 EACCES (Operace zamítnuta)
rt_sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, [], NULL, 8) = 0
write(2, "gzip: ", 6gzip: )                   = 6
write(2, "sauer_client.gz: Permission deni"..., 35sauer_client.gz: Permission denied
) = 35

You can use "ls -ld ." command to see the permission bits of your current
working directory.

> displayed below in the screenshot.

Next time, please, instead of a screenshot which consumes 10 MB, simply copy
and paste the text from your terminal.

> We have all of the text files in a folder
> and are not sure what we’re doing wrong (as we’ve never seen this issue
> before).

I agree the error message is not the best. Gzip might change the message to
express what operation (opening a file for writing) failed.

-- Petr

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Message #14 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Jim Meyering <jim <at> meyering.net>
To: "Mary-Anne Freckleton via GNU gzip discussion and bug reports."
 <bug-gzip <at> gnu.org>, 62695 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, 
 Yusra Siddiqui <Y.Siddiqui <at> derby.ac.uk>
Subject: Re: bug#62695: Gzip error
Date: Fri, 7 Apr 2023 08:04:48 -0700

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On Thu, Apr 6, 2023 at 9:53 PM Petr Pisar <petr.pisar <at> atlas.cz> wrote:
>
> V Thu, Apr 06, 2023 at 09:25:50AM +0000, Mary-Anne Freckleton via GNU gzip discussion and bug reports. napsal(a):
> > I am trying to gzip some files; however, I keep getting the error message
>
> The message is:
>
> $ gzip FILE_NAME
> gzip: FILE_NAME.gz: Operation not permitted
>
> The cause it that you don't have a permission for writing into the directory
> where gzip tries to create the FILE_NAME.gz archive.
>
> Linux has a great tool for tracing what system calls programs do and that
> shows it:
>
> $ strace -- gzip sauer_client
> execve("/bin/gzip", ["gzip", "sauer_client"], 0x7ffe4c58d4e0 /* 75 vars */) = 0
> [...]
> openat(3, "sauer_client.gz", O_WRONLY|O_CREAT|O_EXCL, 0600) = -1 EACCES (Operace zamítnuta)
> rt_sigprocmask(SIG_SETMASK, [], NULL, 8) = 0
> write(2, "gzip: ", 6gzip: )                   = 6
> write(2, "sauer_client.gz: Permission deni"..., 35sauer_client.gz: Permission denied
> ) = 35
>
> You can use "ls -ld ." command to see the permission bits of your current
> working directory.
>
> > displayed below in the screenshot.
>
> Next time, please, instead of a screenshot which consumes 10 MB, simply copy
> and paste the text from your terminal.
>
> > We have all of the text files in a folder
> > and are not sure what we’re doing wrong (as we’ve never seen this issue
> > before).
>
> I agree the error message is not the best. Gzip might change the message to
> express what operation (opening a file for writing) failed.

Thanks for the suggestion.
I've just pushed the attached to address that.

This highlights that gzip has many additional sub-par diagnostics like
that. And I note that it uses "fprintf(stderr", while the vast
majority of GNU programs use "error(", which is better. Also gzip has
no internationalization support. But fixing all of this feels like
it'd be too much like applying lipstick to a pig.

[gzip-write-failure.patch (application/octet-stream, attachment)]

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