BUG: Duplicate declare's can lose you processing lines!!

[ronbarth at adelphia.net]

Hi John,

Thanks for the tip regarding the bug.  In fact, by reading your email I learned something new: I did not know that you can display long variable names by pressing "L" after pressing "D" to show dummy variables.  Thanks!

-Ron 
> 
> From: "John Esak" <john at valar.com>
> Date: 2004/03/21 Sun AM 12:22:10 EST
> To: "filePro mailing list" <filepro-list at seaslug.org>
> CC: support at fptech.com
> Subject: BUG: Duplicate declare's can lose you processing lines!!
> 
> 
> Here is a serious bug that Tony Ryder (and I) found while debugging
> duplicate declares in version 5.13. At least I was on 5.13 he was on
> something a bit earlier.
> 
> If you declare the same variable twice as in the following:
> 
>       if:
>     then: declare fred(15)
>       if:
>     then: declare fred(14)
> 
> Even if you declare them the same length and declare them far apart from
> each other on the table (the above is just an example), the bug happens. It
> is this. Once you have such a duplicate declaration, press F6 to view fields
> and then press D for dummy variables.  The screen will be empty.  If you
> then press L for Long variables, BANG! you are seg-v'd out of the table
> losing all the changes you've made to the table... which could of course be
> hundreds of line of code... or just a few... (or none if you're lucky).
> 
> So, don't duplicate declare anything, add some lines to the table and then
> check the dummy variables and press L. Only work around I can think of if
> you are upgrading from 4 to 5 is... Do a syntax check on tables that you are
> now running in 5 which used to work fine with double declares in 4. The
> syntax check will find the dups, you can fix them, and then you will be able
> to add code to the table safely (well, you can add code as long as you don't
> press F6-D-L).
> 
> Be careful until this is fixed. Always do a syntax check first before
> looking at the Long variable defs, maybe?
> 
> John Esak
> 
> cc: support at fptech.com
> 
> 
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