crash after multiple execution other program

[Timur Elzhov]

Hello!

I tried to run this script:

----------------------------

#!/usr/bin/gawk -f
BEGIN {

    N = 10000;

    for (i = 0; i < N; i++) {
        ("echo "i) | getline;
        print $0;
    }
}

----------------------------

and got this:

0
1
2

.. (so on)

243
244
245
gawk: /home/etv/bin/test.awk:7: fatal: cannot fork for "echo 246"
(Resource temporarily unavailable)

I recieved that error message with gawk versions 3.0.6 as well 3.1.0 under
GNU/Debian Linux with kernel 2.2.20.


Next, I tried to exec that script by mawk:
    mawk 1.3.3 Nov 1996, Copyright (C) Michael D. Brennan

    compiled limits:
    max NF             32767
    sprintf buffer      1020
#!/usr/bin/mawk -Wexec
...

and got:
0
1
2

(so on)

243
244
245
245
245
245
...

and so on up to N = 10000 lines! And, no error messages at all.
Very interesting that strange things occur about the same number 245 (on
my machine)  The similar things occur with other programms too, not `echo'
only.  I took it for simple example.

Similar message I recieved with gawk 3.0.4 on FreeBSD 4.2 host (I'm user
on that machine and have nothing with their root), but gawk crashes on
the other number there (about 450 may be, I do not remember exactly).

Help me please! ;)
Thanks.

--
With best regards,
Timur Elzhov.