Bug#462916: Acknowledgement (apt-get changes dumb terminal parity)

[David Lawyer <dave@lafn.org>]

I just now watched what happens using another terminal using
"watch stty -F /dev/ttyS3 -a"
Note /dev/ttyS3 is my dumb terminal that gets sent bytes with the
wrong parity.  The physical terminal needs odd parity.  Before apt-get
reaches "Reading database" stty shows "parenb parodd".  When it gets to
"Reading database" it just changes slightly to "-parenb parodd".  So
it's disabled parity: -parenb but the parity still remains odd:
parodd (but that's a moot point since parity has been disabled).
So the Subject: should read: apt-get disables parity needed by dumb
terminal.  But in effect it has changed parity from odd parity to no
parity even though "parodd" is still set.

At the same time when the parity is disabled, some other parameters of
the terminal interface also change: cs7 becomes cs8 (bytes go from 7
bits (plus parity) to 8 bits) and icanon becomes -icanon (one doesn't
need to type <return> or <enter> to send a character to the program).
There could be other changes too, I didn't check.

I tried strace but since strace controls the terminal interface,
parity doesn't get disabled.  

			David Lawyer