Message-Id: Comments: Authenticated sender is From: "Salvador Eduardo Tropea (SET)" Organization: INTI To: Eli Zaretskii , djgpp-workers AT delorie DOT com Date: Mon, 30 Mar 1998 14:16:33 +0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Subject: Re: Auto-symified traceback References: In-reply-to: Precedence: bulk Eli Zaretskii wrote: > On Mon, 30 Mar 1998, Salvador Eduardo Tropea (SET) wrote: > > > How do you plan to implement it? calling it from the destroyed program? > > If you mean calling `symify.exe', then no, I didn't think about that. I > thought about copying some of the `symify' code into the library > function which prints the traceback. The code is actually quite simple. But then the overhead won't be so small, and the same applies: What if the program destroys some function needed for that making the the GPF even worst? In my editor I save all the un-saved stuff when I get the signal, until now I got only benefits, but I'm not so sure about how secure is it. The feature can be disabled from the command line. > > If the program crashes in the machine of an end user (and beleive me I saw tons > > of djgpp programs distributed with debug info) it won't help. > > It was meant as an aid to someone who is debugging the program on the same > machine where it was developed. In this case the user can use RHIDE or other tool to get it automatically, a simple batch file can do it (looking at the return code). > But I also don't understand why are you > saying that it won't help on other machines. I never stated: other machine, I said: the end user. > `symify' doesn't need > sources to print the info, so the file names and line numbers will be > printed even if the sources are long gone, or were never installed. It is > much easier to deal with a crash report when it has this info attached, > even if it crashed on someone else's machine. For example, imagine the > situation where a program I wrote crashed at some other machine, while the > sources I maintain have already changed. A symified traceback will help a > whole lot more in this situation. 1) I supposed you tried to make it using symify so the user must have symify. 2) I ever have copies of the last 3 versions with debug info, so I don't need to force the user to download a file with the debug info. My editor is 5Mb with debug info and only 327Kb without it (and compressed). I preffer to run symify on my copy. > > Experimented > > users can run symify or use a custom methode and RHIDE users (a lot of newbies) > > gets it from RHIDE (It traps the GPF and shows the translated trace back). So > > doesn't look to be very needed. > > You seem to only think about RHIDE users ;-). Sorry Eli, sometimes I get biased. But you must agree that most of the newbies (and they really need help with symify) uses RHIDE. > There are situations when this could be useful. I don't doubt it. Is just that the code bloat isn't good and the cases where it could help aren't so much. > One such case is when a > program which you already use for a long time crashes once in a while. > If you are unlucky enough and the properties of that program aren't set > to not close the DOS box, the traceback is gone after you click "OK". A > symified traceback at least lets you see where did it happen before it > disappears for good. I never start programs in this way (I guess you are making it from a shortcut in the W95 desktop, is that correct?). > Anyway, I won't force anybody to have that feature. If it isn't > required, I have better things to do... Perhaps it could be done as an add-on, I mean: It's included by request of the programmer. For example with a #define before some header (expanded to a symbol that forces the module ...). But not as unconditional code. SET ------------------------------------ 0 -------------------------------- Visit my home page: http://set-soft.home.ml.org/ or http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/6552/ Salvador Eduardo Tropea (SET). (Electronics Engineer) Alternative e-mail: set-soft AT usa DOT net set AT computer DOT org ICQ: 2951574 Address: Curapaligue 2124, Caseros, 3 de Febrero Buenos Aires, (1678), ARGENTINA TE: +(541) 759 0013