~RE: DISPLAY in auto

[Jay R. Ashworth]

On Wed, Jul 21, 2004 at 08:28:32PM -0400, John Esak wrote:
> > Can you think of anything environmental that could cause that to fail
> > in that fashion?  The environment in question is 5.0.x on SCO 5.0.6; if
> > the exact point release is pertinent, I can get it (me and the machine
> > are in different cities at the moment).
> 
> to test the results. I always got exactly the value assigned to EXIT. (4 in
> the example code I posted.) I tried the fp code on an input table in rclerk,
> an automatic table in rclerk, an output table in dreport, and an automatic
> table in dreport. (Why don't I use rreport... habit.) Anyway, they all
> worked every single time. Is it at all possible that the particular version
> you have (not meaning a George Simon copy, mind you, but the whole "version
> level" you are runng) has a bug in it? It has happened before (as you have
> so often pointed out... that things get broken from version to version...
> things which used to work.  I would find this hard, very hard to believe,
> because my code has worked since 4.5 without failure of EXIT to return a
> value to my scripts, and I've used all versions since 4.5.

Nope, I don't think I have the Special George Simon Version<tm>.  ;-)

It could be a bug, I guess; I'll have to port it to a different
installation and see what happens.

> I can't remember your postings about it. Does the program actually exit and
> just not supply a alue or does it just sit inside filePro somewhere
> ignoringt the EXIT completely?

I try to EXIT from automatic, and it just drops through to the ENTSEL
prompt, just -- hey, waitamminit now :-) -- like I'd said END.  This is
starting to sound familiar...

>                                     I think that was what you said... If so,
> replace the EXIT sommand with something that does work, for example, a GOTO
> DOIT, and in the routine DOIT, put an EXIT 4. Does that work? (Don't know
> why it should, but debugging something that should clearly work demands
> trying all sorts of things.  Also, of course, try putting the EXIT on the
> first "then" line in the AUTO table and run it. Does that work?

That, in fact, did not; I'd already tried that.  I did *not* try
stuffing it a subroutine, which one of my cow-orkers suggested today,
either; I'll try that tomorrow.

> Last thing I can imagine is that you are running a -z table which looks just
> like your posted table _without_ the EXIT??  I've been known to set up a
> test script work with it for hours and then change the processing name
> forgetting to change the testing script. For minutes, hours, sometimes
> nights, things don't work right, until I get un-brain-dead and look exactly
> at what I'm running.

Ghod knows I've done that, but no, this is in prc.automatic.

> Whatever this problem is, I (and everyone else I'm sure, too would)
> appreciate knowing just what was wrong. It is bothersome to me that you have
> so many complaints about filePro and when something _should_ work as
> advertised... I don't want you to be right. :-)  (Seriously, also, I know
> how frustrating it is when this happens. It is a real time-waster.

:-)

I'll test it some more tomorrow and let y'all know.

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                                                jra at baylink.com
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	"You know: I'm a fan of photosynthesis as much as the next guy,
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