question about getpass

[trt at rti.UUCP]

/dev/tty cannot be open(II)ed if, for example:
1.  /dev/tty does not exist.  (even /dev/null has been
	known to vanish when the disks are flakey.)
2.  The modes on /dev/tty do not permit opening for reading.
3.  There are no more available file descriptors
	(i.e. you have already opened > ~20 files).
4.  The system has no more incore inode space.
5.  A disk error occurs during the open.
Awful, isn't it?
	Tom Truscott