Update attempts freezing in clerk

[John Esak]

Is there any chance the freechain program is running without any
notification to the screen?

The reason why I ask, is freechain locks every updating user just exactly as
you describe when it runs.   It says something like press % to run freechain
but it never does anything. I think it is something like the file is locked
and the freechain can not do anything either.... I am probably wrong about
this... all I know is the press % to run freechain has *never* worked and
you always have to do the kill -9 thing you describe to get to a point where
you *can* run the freechain.

Now, the only thing positive about this problem is when I do get it after
scouring the code involved... I always find a programming issue.... there
hasn't been an unexplainable freechain thing yet., at least not for me.
Others say they do have unexplainable free chain problems.

John


> -----Original Message-----
> From: filepro-list-bounces+john=valar.com at lists.celestial.com
> [mailto:filepro-list-bounces+john=valar.com at lists.celestial.com] On Behalf
> Of Barry Wiseman
> Sent: Friday, August 15, 2008 1:53 PM
> To: Filepro_List
> Subject: Update attempts freezing in clerk
> 
> filePro 5.0.14
> openSUSE 10.3
> 
> This busy (typically 50+ users) site is experiencing some intermittent
> event whereby attempts at write access to their main file cause the
> session to freeze.  It is happening several times a week.  They
> typically experience this when selecting an "Add Records" choice (-xa)
> from their main menu.  The screen clears, the -h text draws, and there
> she sits.
> 
> At those moments, I find the following: I enter the problem file like
> this:
> 
> 	dclerk 3disp -s1 -y - -z -
> 
> I can navigate through records without a problem.  But when I press "U"
> at any record, the session freezes, does not respond to BREAK or QUIT.
> I must do a kill -9 from a different session to regain control.
> 
> I have them contacting me immediately each time this event occurs.
> Sometimes the condition is quickly self-clearing (by the time I log in
> to their box the event is over); most often it persists long enough for
> me to study.
> 
> By the time I'm looking at it there are usually several or more Add
> Records sessions running against this file, all apparently frozen.  I
> usually do a "kill -9" against these sessions one by one; during this
> procedure the condition usually clears, but I'm unconvinced that my
> kill's are the reason, since it also sometimes goes away when I've done
> nothing.
> 
> During these events showlock does not report any unexpected locks (I
> check key, data, indexes, map and lockfile).  I have sometimes found
> several zombie freechain processes, but I think that's a red herring.
> 
> Ideas?
> 
> 
> --
> Barry Wiseman
> Aljex Software
> (732) 357-8700 ext 210
> www.aljex.com
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