[vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

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[vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Mike Bielser
Hi
I have a serious problem: VW7.6nc freezes upon startup. Last thing I did yesterday (before quiting
VW) was
1) collect garbage (menu "System->Collect All Garbage")
2) condense changes (menu "System->Changes->Condense Changes")
3) quit
which is what I always did up to now (and I never had a problem). Now all I get upon startup is a
dialog (see attached screenshot). I did not check-in/publish yesterday's changes, so I really need
this image. Does anybody know what to do? Any hints or help are highly appreciated, thanks a lot!

Mike

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Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Stefan Schmiedl
On Wed, 20 Aug 2008 07:47:16 +0200
Mike Bielser <[hidden email]> wrote:

> I did not check-in/publish yesterday's changes, so I really need
> this image. Does anybody know what to do?

While I have no idea as to cause of or fix for the crash problem, I'd
try the following steps to recover the code:

Start with a fresh copy of visual.im, load the latest published version
of your code, use Tools > Change List to pull your latest unpublished
code changes into the new image.

s.
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Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Mike Bielser
Hi Stefan
thanks a lot for your suggestion, I'll try it right away! I'd still like to know what exactly this
error means, how to avoid it and (if it ever creeps up again) how to possibly work around it. Does
anyone have any ideas. It's particularly peculiar (at least the "out of memory" part) because I
adjusted the memory policy a week ago, giving VW more memory...

Mike

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Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Andres Valloud-6
In reply to this post by Mike Bielser
At first sight, what seems to be going on is an infinite recursion that
causes the VM to run out of memory.  Without seeing the .cha file or
having access to the problem, it is difficult to tell what's going on.

Andres.
 

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On
Behalf Of Mike Bielser
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 10:47 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Hi
I have a serious problem: VW7.6nc freezes upon startup. Last thing I did
yesterday (before quiting
VW) was
1) collect garbage (menu "System->Collect All Garbage")
2) condense changes (menu "System->Changes->Condense Changes")
3) quit
which is what I always did up to now (and I never had a problem). Now
all I get upon startup is a dialog (see attached screenshot). I did not
check-in/publish yesterday's changes, so I really need this image. Does
anybody know what to do? Any hints or help are highly appreciated,
thanks a lot!

Mike

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Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Andres Valloud-6
Also, what memory policy parameters are you using?  If you increased the
size of new space, then that crash can occur if further adjustment of
various headrooms in the memory policy are not done.

Andres.
 

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On
Behalf Of Valloud, Andres
Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 12:28 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

At first sight, what seems to be going on is an infinite recursion that
causes the VM to run out of memory.  Without seeing the .cha file or
having access to the problem, it is difficult to tell what's going on.

Andres.
 

-----Original Message-----
From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On
Behalf Of Mike Bielser
Sent: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 10:47 PM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Hi
I have a serious problem: VW7.6nc freezes upon startup. Last thing I did
yesterday (before quiting
VW) was
1) collect garbage (menu "System->Collect All Garbage")
2) condense changes (menu "System->Changes->Condense Changes")
3) quit
which is what I always did up to now (and I never had a problem). Now
all I get upon startup is a dialog (see attached screenshot). I did not
check-in/publish yesterday's changes, so I really need this image. Does
anybody know what to do? Any hints or help are highly appreciated,
thanks a lot!

Mike

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Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Mike Bielser
On 20.08.2008 09:33, Valloud, Andres wrote:
> Also, what memory policy parameters are you using?  If you increased the
> size of new space, then that crash can occur if further adjustment of
> various headrooms in the memory policy are not done.
>
> Andres.

Hi Andres
maybe I made a mistake? Here is what I did (after clicking the help button in the dialog and reading
the included help):
1) doubled growth regime (from approx. 32MB to 64 MB)
2) doubled free memory (from approx. 8MB to 16MB)

I left memory at 512MB and figured my changes would be safe. Maybe I'm wrong; I'm definitely NOT a
VW memory expert.

Mike

P.S.
I'm trying to figure out what's going on, looks like this behavior might be replicable and might be
connected to DLLCConnect/ExternalInterface

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[vwnc] sizesAtStartup (Re: VW 7.6 startup crash)

Reinout Heeck
In reply to this post by Andres Valloud-6
Valloud, Andres wrote:
> Also, what memory policy parameters are you using?  If you increased the
> size of new space, then that crash can occur if further adjustment of
> various headrooms in the memory policy are not done.

Is there an algorithm available that can validate a #sizesAtStartup
array? Would that be platform dependent?


I would be great if I can add such a test to our nightly builds...


R
-
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Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Terry Raymond
In reply to this post by Mike Bielser
Mike

What kind of system behavior do you see that led you to
change the memory configuration?

Terry
 
===========================================================
Terry Raymond
Crafted Smalltalk
80 Lazywood Ln.
Tiverton, RI  02878
(401) 624-4517      [hidden email]
<http://www.craftedsmalltalk.com>
===========================================================

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email] [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Mike Bielser
> Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 3:23 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash
>
> Hi Stefan
> thanks a lot for your suggestion, I'll try it right away! I'd still like to know what exactly this
> error means, how to avoid it and (if it ever creeps up again) how to possibly work around it. Does
> anyone have any ideas. It's particularly peculiar (at least the "out of memory" part) because I
> adjusted the memory policy a week ago, giving VW more memory...
>
> Mike
>
> _______________________________________________
> vwnc mailing list
> [hidden email]
> http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwnc

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Re: [vwnc] sizesAtStartup (Re: VW 7.6 startup crash)

Andres Valloud-3
In reply to this post by Reinout Heeck
Ah yes.  Improving the current situation is definitely in our to do list.

Andres.


Reinout Heeck wrote:

> Valloud, Andres wrote:
>  
>> Also, what memory policy parameters are you using?  If you increased the
>> size of new space, then that crash can occur if further adjustment of
>> various headrooms in the memory policy are not done.
>>    
>
> Is there an algorithm available that can validate a #sizesAtStartup
> array? Would that be platform dependent?
>
>
> I would be great if I can add such a test to our nightly builds...
>
>
> R
> -
> _______________________________________________
> vwnc mailing list
> [hidden email]
> http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwnc
>
>  

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Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

James Robertson-7
In reply to this post by Mike Bielser
If no one has a suggestion that works, the changes are still available  
for recovery.  If you condensed changes in an image called "work",  
then the full change log is in work.chb, and the condensed one is in  
work.cha.


James Robertson
Cincom Smalltalk Product Evangelist
http://www.cincomsmalltalk.com/blog/blogView
Talk Small and Carry a Big Class Library




On Aug 20, 2008, at 1:47 AM, Mike Bielser wrote:

> Hi
> I have a serious problem: VW7.6nc freezes upon startup. Last thing I  
> did yesterday (before quiting VW) was
> 1) collect garbage (menu "System->Collect All Garbage")
> 2) condense changes (menu "System->Changes->Condense Changes")
> 3) quit
> which is what I always did up to now (and I never had a problem).  
> Now all I get upon startup is a dialog (see attached screenshot). I  
> did not check-in/publish yesterday's changes, so I really need this  
> image. Does anybody know what to do? Any hints or help are highly  
> appreciated, thanks a lot!
>
> Mike
> <VW7.6-crash.jpg>_______________________________________________
> vwnc mailing list
> [hidden email]
> http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwnc

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Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Alan Knight-2
In reply to this post by Mike Bielser
I think this is more likely to mean that the image is corrupted and did not save properly, rather than there being a memory policy issue. This is a fairly typical message that you get if the image cannot be read successfully.

At 04:10 AM 8/20/2008, Mike Bielser wrote:
On 20.08.2008 09:33, Valloud, Andres wrote:
> Also, what memory policy parameters are you using?  If you increased the
> size of new space, then that crash can occur if further adjustment of
> various headrooms in the memory policy are not done.
>
> Andres.

Hi Andres
maybe I made a mistake? Here is what I did (after clicking the help button in the dialog and reading
the included help):
1) doubled growth regime (from approx. 32MB to 64 MB)
2) doubled free memory (from approx. 8MB to 16MB)

I left memory at 512MB and figured my changes would be safe. Maybe I'm wrong; I'm definitely NOT a
VW memory expert.

Mike

P.S.
I'm trying to figure out what's going on, looks like this behavior might be replicable and might be
connected to DLLCConnect/ExternalInterface

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--
Alan Knight [|], Engineering Manager, Cincom Smalltalk

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Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Mike Bielser
Thanks to everyone who came up with a suggestion!
I started with a fresh image, loaded my code from the repository and then took/loaded the change
file (actually the condensed one, .cha; I usually toss the uncompressed original one called .chb),
deleted some "do it's" and other stuff and replayed the changes. A cursory overview tells me that
most (if not all) of yesterday's changes are back.
I can only second Reinout Heeck's opinion to have a check at startup that validates memory sizes. I
really thought (still think) that doubling the two values had bettered the situation rather than
worsened it. Although in my case I think the culprit is rather a corrupted image like Alan Knight
suggested.

Mike

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Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Andres Valloud-3
In reply to this post by Mike Bielser
Mike,

Changing the values as you describe will not (barring any unforeseen
interaction which I doubt very much) cause the mmScavenge.c crash.  For
example, I usually run my images with max memory at about 640mb, growth
regime at about 512mb, and free memory at about 256mb.  The VM won't
crash because of that.

Since you did not change the sizesAtStartup:, what would be left as far
as I can see is one of two scenarios.

a) For some reason the image creates too many objects before the memory
policy is in effect, the VM is unable to scavenge new space and you get
a crash.  If that is the case, then adjusting the startup space headroom
with the -h VM switch may help.  Try something generous like 32
bitShift: 20.

b) The image was left in a state in which an attempt to start back up
from a snapshot will cause an infinite recursion before things like the
UI are up and running.  If this is the case, then the -h switch will
just increase the time it takes until you get the mmScavenge.c crash due
to the VM not finding any more memory into which to tenure objects out
of new space.

Andres.


Mike Bielser wrote:

> On 20.08.2008 09:33, Valloud, Andres wrote:
>  
>> Also, what memory policy parameters are you using?  If you increased the
>> size of new space, then that crash can occur if further adjustment of
>> various headrooms in the memory policy are not done.
>>
>> Andres.
>>    
>
> Hi Andres
> maybe I made a mistake? Here is what I did (after clicking the help button in the dialog and reading
> the included help):
> 1) doubled growth regime (from approx. 32MB to 64 MB)
> 2) doubled free memory (from approx. 8MB to 16MB)
>
> I left memory at 512MB and figured my changes would be safe. Maybe I'm wrong; I'm definitely NOT a
> VW memory expert.
>
> Mike
>
> P.S.
> I'm trying to figure out what's going on, looks like this behavior might be replicable and might be
> connected to DLLCConnect/ExternalInterface
>
> _______________________________________________
> vwnc mailing list
> [hidden email]
> http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwnc
>
>  
   
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Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash

Sattler, Thomas (IT)
Mike,

You have unfortunately run into the single biggest flaw in all of
Smalltalk:  Errors in the application that you are developing can cause
you to lose your IDE.  Since all objects exist in one single image, you
can't really get around this, sorry to say.  

Most Smalltalkers think this is a good thing, since it allows you to
change the IDE while it's running.  But what if you don't want to change
the IDE?  What if you'll never want to change the IDE, and you just want
to work on your application?  Too bad.  Single image.

What I typically do is NEVER save the image once I have run my
application.  

I work in the following manner:

1) Run my application, making changes as I go.
2) When I'm done for the day, publish all packages to Store.
3) Quit the image without saving.

The next day:
4) Start the image
5) Load all packages from Store
6) Save the image

Then repeat from #1.  This way, I am never saving my own
application-created objects.  This system works for me, and I recommend
it.


Thomas Sattler
Morgan Stanley | Technology
750 Seventh Avenue, 14th Floor | New York, NY  10019
Phone: +1 212 762-1212
[hidden email]
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [hidden email]
> [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Andres Valloud
> Sent: Wednesday, August 20, 2008 10:12 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: [vwnc] VW 7.6 startup crash
>
> Mike,
>
> Changing the values as you describe will not (barring any
> unforeseen interaction which I doubt very much) cause the
> mmScavenge.c crash.  For example, I usually run my images
> with max memory at about 640mb, growth regime at about 512mb,
> and free memory at about 256mb.  The VM won't crash because of that.
>
> Since you did not change the sizesAtStartup:, what would be
> left as far as I can see is one of two scenarios.
>
> a) For some reason the image creates too many objects before
> the memory policy is in effect, the VM is unable to scavenge
> new space and you get a crash.  If that is the case, then
> adjusting the startup space headroom with the -h VM switch
> may help.  Try something generous like 32
> bitShift: 20.
>
> b) The image was left in a state in which an attempt to start
> back up from a snapshot will cause an infinite recursion
> before things like the UI are up and running.  If this is the
> case, then the -h switch will just increase the time it takes
> until you get the mmScavenge.c crash due to the VM not
> finding any more memory into which to tenure objects out of new space.
>
> Andres.
>
>
> Mike Bielser wrote:
> > On 20.08.2008 09:33, Valloud, Andres wrote:
> >  
> >> Also, what memory policy parameters are you using?  If you
> increased
> >> the size of new space, then that crash can occur if further
> >> adjustment of various headrooms in the memory policy are not done.
> >>
> >> Andres.
> >>    
> >
> > Hi Andres
> > maybe I made a mistake? Here is what I did (after clicking the help
> > button in the dialog and reading the included help):
> > 1) doubled growth regime (from approx. 32MB to 64 MB)
> > 2) doubled free memory (from approx. 8MB to 16MB)
> >
> > I left memory at 512MB and figured my changes would be
> safe. Maybe I'm
> > wrong; I'm definitely NOT a VW memory expert.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> > P.S.
> > I'm trying to figure out what's going on, looks like this behavior
> > might be replicable and might be connected to
> > DLLCConnect/ExternalInterface
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > vwnc mailing list
> > [hidden email]
> > http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwnc
> >
> >  
>    
> _______________________________________________
> vwnc mailing list
> [hidden email]
> http://lists.cs.uiuc.edu/mailman/listinfo/vwnc
>
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