Arduino IDE fails detecting board when no /var/lock is available [imported]

[cmaglie]

This is Issue 541 moved from a Google Code project.
Added by 2011-05-11T10:41:54.000Z by fabio.va...@gmail.com.
Please review that bug for more context and additional comments, but update this bug.

Original labels: Type-Defect, Priority-Medium

Original description

Hi everyone,

somehow I spent the last couple of hours trying to sort out why the Arduino IDE didn't see my Arduino (under Tools->Serial Port) on my linux system (Archlinux).. it turns out that somehow I didn't have anymore the /var/lock directory.

Without this directory it seems that Arduino IDE fails to use Serial ports.

Problem is that the IDE didn't send out any error message nor notification of such problem.

[ffissore]

Fabio is no more with us. I will close the issue since it's solved with JSSC: It doesn't use lock files but instead opens the device with ioctl(tty, TIOCEXCL), letting the kernel to avoid other processes to open the "exclusively opened tty". However, this is true only on *nix OSes, on windows there is just no lock