Nasty bug in LiveCode for Windows - help needed

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LiveCode_Panos
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Nasty bug in LiveCode for Windows - help needed

Post by LiveCode_Panos » Fri Aug 04, 2017 3:49 pm

Hi all,

At least 3 users have reported a strange bug on Windows with any version of LC 8, which unfortunately we are unable to reproduce (and thus unable to fix, so far).

The fact that it affects only 3 users and this happens in *every* LC 8 version, suggests that the problem is caused by a specific combination of LC and something else in the affected users PC's configurations.

So the bug is that when LC starts, an error dialog "error while loading stack: revidelibrary.8.livecodescript" is shown.

The IDE then starts correctly, but the Dictionary is empty. Essentially the problem is that *something* happens and the dictionary data is not generated.

We have tried the usual suspects:

1. Deleting Prefs
2. Deleting Documentation Cache
3. Deleting My LiveCode folder
4. Examining the LiveCodeToolsLog.txt

but none of them got us anywhere.

So my questions are:

1. Have you ever seen that?
2. Do you still see that?
3. If you saw that in the past but you don't see it now, do you know/guess what change in your configurations could have fixed it
4. If you see that on a Windows VM and if your Windows license agreement allows it (e.g. multi user/ multi installation licensing), are you willing to send us the VM, after clearing any other commercial software installed in it (we are happy to sign an NDA) so as we have a machine where we can reproduce this bug?

Thanks,
Panos


PS: For reference, this is the bug report:

http://quality.livecode.com/show_bug.cgi?id=19729
which is a duplicate of
http://quality.livecode.com/show_bug.cgi?id=17374
Last edited by LiveCode_Panos on Sat Aug 05, 2017 5:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.

bogs
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Re: Nasty bug in LiveCode for Windows - help needed

Post by bogs » Sat Aug 05, 2017 5:22 am

LiveCode_Panos wrote: 4. If you see that on a Windows VM, are you willing to send us the VM... so as we have a machine where we can reproduce this bug?
Um. I don't want to be a kill joy here, by any means, and I'm all for squashing the hell out of bugs (or finding out whats causing them), but I am pretty sure that while you *can* send a vm with windows installed on it, it isn't exactly 'kosher', like sending an image of linux would be.

To put it a different way, I think it would be like having commercially licensed software of any kind in a vm environment, then sending that around to your friends gratis. Might be cool with your friends, but not for the company that produced the software, if you see what I mean.
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LiveCode_Panos
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Re: Nasty bug in LiveCode for Windows - help needed

Post by LiveCode_Panos » Sat Aug 05, 2017 9:19 am

Hi bogs,

I see what you mean, but the situation here is different. I asked for a VM that demonstrates the problem, in the same context that I would ask for a stack that demonstrates a specific bug.

When a user submits a bug which we cannot reproduce in a simple stack, we ask the user to send us privately their confidential/commercial stack. We keep the stack until the bug is resolved, and then we delete it.

Similarly, if we manage to get a VM that is affected by this bug, we are going to use this VM **exclusively** for diagnosing this bug and testing the potential fix, and this VM will be deleted once the bug is fixed.

Best regards,
Panos

bogs
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Re: Nasty bug in LiveCode for Windows - help needed

Post by bogs » Sat Aug 05, 2017 12:31 pm

Heya Panos.
I understand the reasoning behind the request fully, and I am sure it is honorable and above board as well, but I am just as sure that MS would not be inclined to see it that way. They don't take quite the line Apple does on running the os in a vm, but I am pretty sure the eula doesn't allow for this kind of usage.

Of course, IANAL, the above is just an opinion. I sure don't have a vested interest in MS software any road (Linux user myself), just pointing out that it might be a request that would cause problems in a number of legal ways, and I am sure that you can see why.

Good luck to all of you in resolving this :)
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LiveCode_Panos
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Re: Nasty bug in LiveCode for Windows - help needed

Post by LiveCode_Panos » Sat Aug 05, 2017 5:35 pm

Hi bogs,

Thank you for pointing this out. I have edited my original post to reflect this issue.

Best regards,
Panos
--

bogs
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Re: Nasty bug in LiveCode for Windows - help needed

Post by bogs » Sat Aug 05, 2017 11:19 pm

Boy do I feel like a kill joy, but better safe than sorry. Great edit btw :)
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[-hh]
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Re: Nasty bug in LiveCode for Windows - help needed

Post by [-hh] » Sun Aug 06, 2017 4:41 pm

Using Virtualbox and one or several of the free VMs from

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/m ... tools/vms/

I got different startup problems with LC 8 only, mostly hanging with a display of stack home and the LC-"startup screen". Nothing else was installed than LC versions 6/8/9.

When killing LC 8 with the task manager and then launching LC a second time LC worked "as usual". Several times I saw there was also the installer (.setup.exe) active with a large CPU load. Killing the installer only with the task manager also helped when afterwards saving the state of the VM.

The problems disappeared after uninstalling MSOneDrive (which takes at startup up to 100% CPU load for 'connecting' to apps). Perhaps MSOneDrive tries to connect with the LC-installer? And/or it intercepts somehow a clean startup of LC 8 (or the version that is connected to "livecode" line endings)?
shiftLock happens

LiveCode_Panos
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Re: Nasty bug in LiveCode for Windows - help needed

Post by LiveCode_Panos » Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:46 pm

Hi Hermann,

Thank you very much for the feedback.

The problem of LC not starting when an instance of the installer (.setup.exe) is running on the background, is a long standing issue, for which we have not managed to find a reliable recipe yet. It is reported here, if you want to add your email in the cc list:

http://quality.livecode.com/show_bug.cgi?id=19348

It is good to know that uninstalling MSOneDrive has fixed the issue for you, although we don't have MSOneDrive installed in the office Windows machines if I remember correctly (but I'll double check tomorrow).

Kind regards,
Panos
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