emacs compilation: call a script in background

Question

I have a script (let's call it ding) which plays a sound in the background (essentially just calls paplay <file> &). I wish to call this from emacs after I finish compiling something, like so:

M-x compile, make && ding

Unfortunately because paplay is called in the background, nothing happens (no sound is played). If I remove the & from ding, the sound is played just fine.

Why does this happen, and is there a way to get a script to execute in the background in compilation mode (without making it a foreground job)?

Does the same thing happen if you call it straight from bash, rather than through emacs? — that other guy, Feb 19 '13 at 23:04
bash works fine. M-x shell-command also works, but doesn't do the compilation mode that I'm interested in. — Felix, Feb 19 '13 at 23:48

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Feb 20 '13 at 00:17

3

Emacs will close the commands' output when the commands finish, and chances are paplay doesn't like that. Try nohup paplay ... &

answered Feb 20 '13 at 00:17

that other guy

116,971
11
170
194

emacs compilation: call a script in background

1 Answers1