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Conference vaxuum::online_bookbuilding

Title:Online Bookbuilding
Notice:This conference is write-locked: see note 1.3.
Moderator:VAXUUM::UTT
Created:Fri Aug 12 1988
Last Modified:Mon Jul 15 1991
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:440
Total number of notes:2134

386.0. "Self-referencing hotspots ('undefined symbol' error)" by CALLME::MR_TOPAZ () Wed Nov 28 1990 17:21

       I didn't find this problem covered either in this conference or
       in the documentation about writing source files for online
       bookbuilding -- sorry if it's been covered.

       Apparently, you cannot have a hotspot that references itself --
       that is, you can't reference a section from itself.  The
       following coding did not work for a bookreader build:

         <head1>(Changes to this manual\new_sections)

         <p>

         The following sections of this manual have been changed from the
         previous version:
         ...
         <le><reference>(new_sections)
         .
         .
         .

       This was another of the famous bookbuild crashes during the
       Device Conversion phase, after all of the text formatting and
       using the same source files that built successfully for other
       destinations:

           BOOKWRITER ERROR--The following symbols are undefined:
	    pgid =  11, offset =   4297, symbol = 'NEW_SECTIONS'

       Although it was a rewarding exercise to track this down, I would
       have appreciated it equally well had Document given me a more
       meaningful error message.

       --Don
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name		DateLines
386.1Need more info, it should work...VAXUUM::GRANTI've saved $2772.00 since I quit smoking.Wed Nov 28 1990 21:4313
    Hi,
    	You shouldn't have any trouble referencing a section from within
    the same section.
    
    	Would you please send me a copy of the .LOG file that gave you the
    error?  If you have them, I would also like to see the .TEX and
    .DVI_BOOKREADER files.  (Pointers to their locations will do.) If you 
    don't have them, a short .SDML file that reproduces the problem will 
    help, too.  
    
    Thanks,
    	Wayne
386.2Refs into Preface not allowed in V12BVAXUUM::GRANTI've saved $2773.50 since I quit smoking.Thu Nov 29 1990 13:2622
Hi Don,

	Thanks for sending me the information I asked for.  It sure helps to
see the 'whole picture'.  I didn't realize that what you were trying to do was
reference a <HEADn> tag in the preface.  With the version of VAX DOCUMENT
you're using, you can't reference <HEADn> tags that are coded in the preface.

	The <HEADn> tag was defined in such a way as to allow the use of the
symbol argument but the symbol itself wasn't stored.  This was what allowed
the bookbuild to continue until Device Conversion before detecting the error.

	It has been on the wishlist for quite some time that we find some way
to allow cross references into the preface.   With the next version of VAX
DOCUMENT, now in field test, <HEADn> tags in the preface, <PREFACE>,
<PREFACE_SECTION>, <SUBHEADn>, <COMMAND>, <ROUTINE>, and <STATEMENT> tags will
all take symbol arguments and may be referenced.

	As for the error message, we've also modifed it to provide a more
meaningful message to the user.  This is also in the next version.

Thanks,
	Wayne
386.3OLD::UTTMary UttThu Nov 29 1990 13:5812
    Don,
    
    FYI: in fact, this problem was reported, and answered, in note 314.3.
    
    In addition, word of your 'famous bookbuild crashes' did not spread to
    this notes conference, where they could have been dealt with
    constructively, so I think your sarcasm (and implied criticism of this
    group's support for online bookbuilding) is un-called-for.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Mary
386.4CALLME::MR_TOPAZThu Nov 29 1990 16:1210
       Thanks for the quick answer, Wayne.  If I'd figured that the issue
       was referencing a preface section and not self-referencing, then I
       might have found Mike's note that discussed this issue.
       
       Mary, I intended no sarcasm or criticism in my note, and I hope
       you or your group do not take any.  The support for online
       bookbuilding that you and your group provides is appreciated by me
       and my fellow writers, and I have never known it to be questioned.
       
       --Don
386.5OLD::UTTMary UttFri Nov 30 1990 11:5014
    Well, there was certainly *no* indication that the <head1> tags in the
    front matter were any different from the <head1> tags anywhere else,
    when in fact, they were *quite* different. I *very* glad that we can
    say that that little mess is fixed in V2.0.
    
    Sarcasm: OK, no offense taken, and thanks for the kind words. You and
    your fellow writers in VMSland have endured a lot as the first and most
    frequent users of the online tools, and on the whole you've endured it
    very gracefully. And made a lot of contributions to the improvement of
    the tools.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Mary