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Conference azur::mcc

Title:DECmcc user notes file. Does not replace IPMT.
Notice:Use IPMT for problems. Newsletter location in note 6187
Moderator:TAEC::BEROUD
Created:Mon Aug 21 1989
Last Modified:Wed Jun 04 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:6497
Total number of notes:27359

2080.0. "Help builder - SORT errors" by WOTVAX::PURNELLR ( Life, it's not what I thought it was !) Mon Jan 13 1992 09:35

    
    Running the Help builder, I get the following errors when the procedure
    is 'Sorting character cell help topics';
    
    %SORT-E-BAD_LRL, record length (147) greater than specified longest
    record length
    
    -SORT-E-READERR error reading DKA300:[MCC]MCC_character_cell_help.top
    
    This error is repeated 4 times before.....
    
    Internal Error - SOR$SORT_MERGE failed.
    %MCCHFB-E-INTERROR, Internal Error, Character cell topics file not
    sorted properly.
    
    
    Can I recover the help files, without having to re-install the product.
    This is on a station currently being used for a customer trial.
    
    ;*)
    
    Rex & Ric
    
    
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name
DateLines
2080.1What were you running?TOOK::MINTZErik Mintz, DECmcc DevelopmentMon Jan 13 1992 11:105

I assume this is VMS, but what version of DECmcc are you running?

What were you trying to do with the help file builder when the error occured?
2080.2more details .....WOTVAX::PURNELLR Life, it's not what I thought it was !Mon Jan 13 1992 13:3917
    
    Yes,
    
    I was rather vague !
    
    VMS system, DECmcc BMS V1.1, with DECmcc FDA FM UT1.1, TSAM AM V1.0, 
    TCP/IP SNMP AM V1.1 & ELM AM V1.0
    
    I was trying to re-build the help libraries as from the DECmcc line 
    interface there was no help available.
    
    Does this help ?
    
    :*(
    
    Rex 
    
2080.3I'm looking at HFB now !NANOVX::ROBERTSKeith Roberts - DECmcc Toolkit TeamTue Jan 14 1992 11:3211
Rex & Ric

Amazing - I'm working on HFB today, and just saw the same error!! So I'll
check it out.

Was the problem reproducable?

btw - there are some performance enhancements which make HFB run ~ 5 times
faster!

/keith
2080.4< More Information >WOTVAX::PURNELLR Life, it's not what I thought it was !Tue Jan 14 1992 13:2717
    
      Keith,
    
    Yes the problem occurred each time we attempted a build. However.....
    
    We did some checking, and we found that the TSAM help file has 200+
    byte records. Having removed this file the build got through the sort
    for the character cell topics but then failed during the windows help
    sort with similar error messages. We haven't had time to track down any
    other help files with "large" record sizes.
    
    Could we be on the right track ?
    
    
    Thanx & regards 
    
       Rex & Rich.
2080.5< Yet more information.>WOTVAX::PURNELLR Life, it's not what I thought it was !Tue Jan 14 1992 16:4816
    
    Keith,
    
    A further update to .4 .
    We have now managed to build the help libraries successfully !!!!
    By deleting all the .HLB & .TOP files in the mcc_common area and
    doing a complete build everything worked fine. (TSAM excluded)
    
    We will retrace those steps yet again with the TSAM help file
    included and post the result tomorrow am.
    
    
      regards,
    
    
      Rex  &  Rich.
2080.6Old tempoary filesNANOVX::ROBERTSKeith Roberts - DECmcc Toolkit TeamTue Jan 14 1992 17:215
Yes, I believe the .TOP and other temporary files should be deleted before
running HFB -- I should have the init code delete these files.

thanks,
keith
2080.7RMS record length attribute?TOOK::CAREYTue Jan 14 1992 18:3117
    
    Looking Waaaaaay back in my memory, I believe I ran into something like
    this a long time ago....  We weren't in as dynamic an environment then
    and possibly deferred it.
    
    The problem had something to do with the variable length record format.
    On creation, the system is ingenious enough to create the .HLB files
    with the right record length.  If all of the files aren't deleted,
    sometimes it seems to re-create the file with the same attributes as
    the original -- including a too low upper limit on the record length if
    the new help file stuff has some longer records.
    
    Keith, I would start my search with the file creation and see if that
    makes sense.
    
    -Jim
    
2080.8 < Success !!!! >WOTVAX::PURNELLR Life, it's not what I thought it was !Wed Jan 15 1992 05:4111
    
    
     Keith,
    
      The complete build (including the TSAM help file) completed O.K.
    The answer lies in deleting the "old" files prior to a new build.
    
    Thanks for your prompt response and efforts.
    
    
      Rex  & Rich.
2080.9changes to HFB initializationNANOVX::ROBERTSKeith Roberts - DECmcc Toolkit TeamWed Jan 15 1992 11:5112
I will be adding to the HFB initialization - to delete any 'old' temporary
files.  Thanks for checking this out.

Oh - Help File Builder execution time has been reduced:

	from 1 Hour and 20 Minutes
	  to            13 Minutes

The timing was done on a VAX 3100 model 38 using *all* the HELP files from
MCC_COMMON... 8)

/keith
2080.10old hfb problem with temporary files hanging aroundTOOK::CALLANDERMCC = My Constant CompanionFri Jan 17 1992 12:4617
     RE: carey's note
    
    HFB (and i don't know what work Keith has done to fix this yet) used to
    have a problem where the old temporary files were left hanging around.
    We did this because HFB was primarily a midnight hack and the temp
    files were our only clue to debugging problems. The major problem with
    this was that if they were still around the next time  you built help
    we would attempt to append to them, and that could cause HFB major
    problems. The older release notes should have had a notice that you
    neeed to delete these prior to doing a build of a new help file. I
    thought the template installation procedures we gave out to MM
    developers actually put this command in there (but that could have been
    lost with time as people forgot the problem). My understanding from
    Keiths mail was that the use of the temporary files has been
    modified/eliminated in the new version.
    
    
2080.11HFB deletes temporary files during initializationNANOVX::ROBERTSKeith Roberts - DECmcc Toolkit TeamFri Jan 17 1992 15:465
The DECmcc/VMS Help File Builder for v1.2 will now delete any temporary
files created from previous builds.  It also runs *much* faster (by about
a factor of 8) and can detect duplicate topic keys.

/keith