| % FINDFILE: Error managing child process. [message #40238] |
Fri, 23 July 2004 15:02  |
Timm Weitkamp
Messages: 66
Registered: August 2002
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Member |
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I am having an annoying problem with FINDFILE on a Sunblade with IDL 6.0
(version = { sparc sunos unix Solaris 6.0 Jun 27 2003 64 64}). I run an
IDL program that runs fine on other machines (PCs running Linux) and used
to work on this Sunblade too, and now it stops with an error message at a
call to FINDFILE. The call is alright, the problem is that FINDFILE seems
to spawn an "ls" or something, because I get the same error when I spawn
"ls" by hand:
IDL> $ls
% Error managing child process.
Not enough space
What is this? Bug? Feature? Memory problem? It actually occurs with *any*
spawned command (I tried "cat" or even non-existent commands with the same
result). Can I circumvent this somehow? Any help appreciated. Here's the
system info:
IDL> print, !version
Timm
--
Timm Weitkamp
Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
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| Re: % FINDFILE: Error managing child process. [message #40258 is a reply to message #40238] |
Sat, 31 July 2004 03:21  |
Timm Weitkamp
Messages: 66
Registered: August 2002
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Member |
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Karl,
This piece of information was *exactly* what I was looking for.
And it's also good news. Closes the thread, I think.
Cheers,
Timm
On 28.07.04 at 16:36 -0600, Karl Schultz wrote:
> It turns out that this is a known problem. Here's what is happening:
>
> FINDFILE launches child processes (using the same mechanism as SPAWN) to get
> file and directory information. The problem really has more to do with
> SPAWN itself and not FINDFILE, so you'll see the same issue anywhere else
> SPAWN is used.
>
> On Solaris, IDL 5.5 and versions prior to 5.5 used vfork() to spawn
> processes. IDL 5.6 (and 6.0) were changed to use fork() because we were led
> to believe that fork() was more suitable when some of the threading support
> was added in 5.6. It turns out that vfork() is really the method to use
> regardless of the threading, and so IDL 6.1 uses vfork() again. This means
> that your problem should go away with IDL 6.1.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Karl
>
> "Timm Weitkamp" <dont.try@this.address> wrote in message
> news:Pine.LNX.4.44.0407280954480.29421-100000@localhost.loca ldomain...
>> Thank you for all info and suggestions. It seems unlikely (though not
>> impossible) to me that a lack of swap space or other disk space should
>> cause my problem, as some of you have suggested.
>>
>> Given that there is plenty of swap space, even quite a bit of RAM left and
>> that the problem occurs only with 5.6 and higher, but not with 5.4, I tend
>> to think that it is an internal IDL problem.
>>
>> I will further investigate this thing when I have more time -- for the
>> time being I can live with it. Thanks again to all of you.
>>
>> Timm
--
Timm Weitkamp
Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
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| Re: % FINDFILE: Error managing child process. [message #40283 is a reply to message #40238] |
Wed, 28 July 2004 15:36 |
Karl Schultz
Messages: 341
Registered: October 1999
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Senior Member |
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It turns out that this is a known problem. Here's what is happening:
FINDFILE launches child processes (using the same mechanism as SPAWN) to get
file and directory information. The problem really has more to do with
SPAWN itself and not FINDFILE, so you'll see the same issue anywhere else
SPAWN is used.
On Solaris, IDL 5.5 and versions prior to 5.5 used vfork() to spawn
processes. IDL 5.6 (and 6.0) were changed to use fork() because we were led
to believe that fork() was more suitable when some of the threading support
was added in 5.6. It turns out that vfork() is really the method to use
regardless of the threading, and so IDL 6.1 uses vfork() again. This means
that your problem should go away with IDL 6.1.
Hope this helps.
Karl
"Timm Weitkamp" <dont.try@this.address> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.44.0407280954480.29421-100000@localhost.loca ldomain...
> Thank you for all info and suggestions. It seems unlikely (though not
> impossible) to me that a lack of swap space or other disk space should
> cause my problem, as some of you have suggested.
>
> Given that there is plenty of swap space, even quite a bit of RAM left and
> that the problem occurs only with 5.6 and higher, but not with 5.4, I tend
> to think that it is an internal IDL problem.
>
> I will further investigate this thing when I have more time -- for the
> time being I can live with it. Thanks again to all of you.
>
> Timm
>
> --
> Timm Weitkamp
> Paul Scherrer Institut, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland
>
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| Re: % FINDFILE: Error managing child process. [message #40284 is a reply to message #40238] |
Wed, 28 July 2004 14:50 |
Mark Hadfield
Messages: 783
Registered: May 1995
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Senior Member |
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Timm Weitkamp wrote:
> Given that there is plenty of swap space, even quite a bit of RAM left and
> that the problem occurs only with 5.6 and higher, but not with 5.4, I tend
> to think that it is an internal IDL problem.
But have you checked whether this problem occurs with FILE_SEARCH, as
suggested by George White and Reimar Bauer?
If it doesn't, then you might note that
- the FINDFILE problem occurs only with IDL 5.6 and higher
- FILE_SEARCH is available, and FINDFILE is deprecated, in IDL 5.5
and higher
Problem solved!
--
Mark Hadfield "Ka puwaha te tai nei, Hoea tatou"
m.hadfield@niwa.co.nz
National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)
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