Changed output behavior when using quiet and verbose in version 8.2.0

[AlexanderKlump]

Testing the latest change from version 8.1.9 to 8.2.0 we detected some unexpected change of behavior in the output of our scripts working with zx. I tried to reproduce the observed behavior in the following TS script, which I run with node --loader ts-node/esm --no-warnings=ExperimentalWarning testZx.ts and my node version is v20.10.0.

import { $, LogEntry } from "zx";

await $`echo "$.verbose = ${$.verbose} & $.quiet = ${$.quiet}"`; //from this I infer what is the expected behavior for $.verbose = false and $.quiet = false
$.verbose = true;
await $`echo "$.verbose = ${$.verbose} & $.quiet = ${$.quiet}"`; //from this I infer what is the expected behavior for $.verbose = true and $.quiet = false
await $`echo "$.verbose = ${$.verbose} & $.quiet = ${$.quiet} & .verbose(false)"`.verbose(false); //expected to output nothing
await $`echo "$.verbose = ${$.verbose} & $.quiet = ${$.quiet} & .quiet(true)"`.quiet(true); //expected to output nothing
$.quiet = true;
await $`echo "$.verbose = ${$.verbose} & $.quiet = ${$.quiet}"`; //expected to output nothing
await $`echo "$.verbose = ${$.verbose} & $.quiet = ${$.quiet} & .quiet(false)"`.quiet(false); //expected to output the zx command and its output

$.verbose = false;
await $`echo "$.verbose = ${$.verbose} & $.quiet = ${$.quiet} & .quiet(false)"`.quiet(false); //expected to output nothing

$.verbose = true;

$.log = (entry: LogEntry) => {
    console.log(`entry.kind = ${entry.kind} & entry.verbose = ${entry.verbose}`);
};

$.quiet = false;

await $`echo "Hello World"`; //expected to lead to entry.verbose = true
await $`echo "Hello World"`.quiet(); //expected to lead to entry.verbose = false

With zx version 8.1.9 the output is:

$ echo "$.verbose = true & $.quiet = false"
$.verbose = true & $.quiet = false
$ echo "$.verbose = true & $.quiet = true & .quiet(false)"
$.verbose = true & $.quiet = true & .quiet(false)
entry.kind = cmd & entry.verbose = true
entry.kind = stdout & entry.verbose = true
entry.kind = cmd & entry.verbose = false
entry.kind = stdout & entry.verbose = false

Observations:

• $.verbose = false and $.quiet = false output nothing
• $.verbose = true and $.quiet = false output the zx command and its output

With zx version 8.2.0 we get this:

$ echo "$.verbose = true & $.quiet = false"
$.verbose = true & $.quiet = false
$ echo "$.verbose = true & $.quiet = false & .verbose(false)"
$ echo "$.verbose = true & $.quiet = false & .quiet(true)"
$.verbose = true & $.quiet = true & .quiet(false)
entry.kind = cmd & entry.verbose = true
entry.kind = stdout & entry.verbose = true
entry.kind = cmd & entry.verbose = true
entry.kind = stdout & entry.verbose = false

Observations:

• $.verbose = true & $.quiet = false & .verbose(false) have a different behavior as $.verbose = false and $.quiet = false
• .quiet(true) does not suppress the zx command to be printed
• .quiet(false) still suppresses the zx command to be printed
• the entry.verbose for the cmd kind gets not changed to false anymore if .quiet() is used (this is crucial for us since in our logging function we want to suppress all output if .quiet is used)

For me this looks like an unintended behavior, or do I misperceive something?

[antongolub]

We've the fixed the internal process init logic, that previously blocked pid obtaining: in short cp.spawn is not wrapped with setImmediate workaround anymore.

$({quiet: true})cmd applies the option before the first log event may occur, meanwhile $cmd.quiet() modifies the behavior of the running process.

[antongolub]

@AlexanderKlump , Here's this specific piece. If you have any ideas on how to soften the subtle side effects, share them with us plz.