Upstart job running script

Question

Ubuntu 14.04

I have simple upstart job test.conf:

root@ubuntutest:~# cat /etc/init/test.conf 
expect fork
script
/root/test.py
end script

and simple python script /root/test.py:

root@ubuntutest:~# cat /root/test.py 
#!/usr/bin/python
import time

print("Hello, World")
time.sleep(30)
print("Goodbye")

I start test job, ensure that upstart tracks proper PID, wait script's termination, but than upstart doesn't stop tracking non-existing PID. So upstart always shows that the job is running (while actually it is not)

root@ubuntutest:~# initctl status test
test stop/waiting
root@ubuntutest:~# initctl start test
test start/running, process 1859
root@ubuntutest:~# ps aux | grep 1859
root      1859  0.2  0.7  29832  7188 ?        S    14:43   0:00 /usr/bin/python /root/test.py
root      1862  0.0  0.2  11760  2156 pts/0    S+   14:43   0:00 grep --color=auto 1859
root@ubuntutest:~# ps aux | grep 1859
root      1864  0.0  0.2  11760  2224 pts/0    S+   14:43   0:00 grep --color=auto 1859
root@ubuntutest:~# initctl status test
test start/running, process 1859

If i delete expect fork from test job then everything works good (except upstart tracks sh instead of python) - i want to understand what's wrong with my code?

The same happens if i use bash script instead of python:

#!/bin/bash

sleep 30

Answer 1

Why not simply use the exec stanza rather than script [...] end script?

description "my python script"
start on startup
task
exec python

Alternatively you can exec the python program from within the script section:

description "my python script, with extra steps"
start on started dbus
task
script
    echo foo >/tmp/bar
    exec python myscript.py
end script

As a short answer on why upstart thinks the process is still alive even though it has exited: the shell process is intercepting the signals that upstart would normally receive when your python program exits, and Upstart cannot know that the process has exited without these signals.