Comment 0 for bug 279973

Binary package hint: console-data

On Ubuntu 8.04, in console mode, the PrintScreen key sends SIGQUIT to the running application. Depending which application you are running, this may cause it to dump core. So this single wrong keystroke can cause data loss. Most text editors are unaffected, but most other apps are.

This problem has affected most Linux PCs for almost a decade now, but AFAICT nobody has ever filed a proper bug report about it with the kernel folks or with Ubuntu. People have complained on mailing lists though.

== Steps to repro ==

1. Press Control+Alt+F1
2. Log in
3. Do one of the following:
     a) type "sudo aptitude" then spend fifteen minutes looking through the list of packages and picking what you want, OR
     b) start up the "lynx" browser then spend 15 minutes editing a Wikipedia article
4. In the middle of step 3, accidentally press the Print Screen key on your keyboard.

== What happens ==

* When you press PrtSc, the kernel sends the ^\ (Control-Backslash) key combination to the terminal. This is by design, but it is a bad design. It causes data loss.
* ^\ sends a SIGQUIT signal, causing the application to immediately abort and dump core.

== What should have happened ==

* When you press PrtSc, the kernel should not send ^\ -- it should either send a different key combination, or send nothing at all.