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Re: main or procedure [message #54619 is a reply to message #54618]

Wed, 20 June 2007 08:42

Conor
Messages: 138
Registered: February 2007

Senior Member

On Jun 20, 10:56 am, David Fanning <n...@dfanning.com> wrote:
> Marshall Perrin writes:
>> It feels odd to disagree with the great Dr. Fanning, but in this case
>> I want to offer a counter-suggestion to the above advice.
>
> Actually, we probably don't disagree. I've pretty much
> given up EVER using ON_ERROR,1. If I need error handling,
> I typically use a CATCH.
>
> My impression was that the person asking the question
> was not very knowledgeable about IDL. I've learned it is
> better to start with the simple answers, rather than laying
> the whole sordid picture out all at once. I guess we could ask
> him. Sukye, did you understand ANYTHING Carsten Lechte said?
>
>> For the original poster: The reason it returned automatically to the
>> top level in your case is that you compiles a main routine (i.e.
>> a file with IDL code but no "PRO whatever" or "FUNCTION whatever")
>> while inside a procedure or function. That, you can't do.
>
> I don't think this is what happened, but perhaps it is the
> message that is confusing. This is the message
> you get if you crash in any IDL procedure or function
> and are stopped somewhere other than at the main level
> and you try to compile the same procedure or function that
> failed. I'd say this is 95% certain what has happened here.
> A simple RETALL would eliminate the message, but, of course,
> all variables created at that level would be lost. The good
> news, of course, is that you will re-discover all those
> variables you ACTUALLY created at the main level. :-)
>
> Cheers,
>
> David
> --
> David Fanning, Ph.D.
> Fanning Software Consulting, Inc.
> Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming:http://www.dfanning.com/
> Sepore ma de ni thui. ("Perhaps thou speakest truth.")

That's what I assumed happened as well. When I first started using
IDL I had the exact opposite problem. I'd create all my variables and
what-not on the main level, and then my program would crash and all my
variables would dissappear. I had no idea what was going on, and no
one else I asked seemed to know either. It really irked me because I
was working with some large text files, and loading the data into IDL
was a particularly lengthy process (mainly because I had written a
horribly inefficient program that read the files into IDL). Every
time my program crashed I had to wait another 5 minutes for my data to
reload. Then, once it was done reloading, I would fix the bug and
recompile the program, bringing myself back to the main level and
restoring all the data I thought I had "lost" while I was in the
program scope. Of course I had already re-loaded the data, so I
didn't notice my missing data magically re-appearing when I re-
compiled my program, and I didn't know what the "procedure compiled
while active: returning' message meant, so I never realized what was
happening. I continued in this fashion for a couple weeks before I
finally figured out what was going on :)

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[Message index]

		Re: main or procedure By: Carsten Lechte on Thu, 21 June 2007 12:06
		Re: main or procedure By: JD Smith on Wed, 20 June 2007 17:02
		Re: main or procedure By: JD Smith on Wed, 20 June 2007 16:36
		Re: main or procedure By: Carsten Lechte on Wed, 20 June 2007 13:13
		Re: main or procedure By: David Fanning on Wed, 20 June 2007 12:14
		Re: main or procedure By: Carsten Lechte on Wed, 20 June 2007 11:50
		Re: main or procedure By: Conor on Wed, 20 June 2007 11:54
		Re: main or procedure By: Paul Van Delst[1] on Wed, 20 June 2007 10:48
		Re: main or procedure By: Vince Hradil on Wed, 20 June 2007 09:47
		Re: main or procedure By: Carsten Lechte on Wed, 20 June 2007 09:12
		Re: main or procedure By: Carsten Lechte on Wed, 20 June 2007 09:03
		Re: main or procedure By: Conor on Wed, 20 June 2007 08:42
		Re: main or procedure By: David Fanning on Wed, 20 June 2007 07:56
		Re: main or procedure By: David Fanning on Wed, 20 June 2007 07:40
		Re: main or procedure By: Marshall Perrin on Wed, 20 June 2007 07:39
		Re: main or procedure By: Carsten Lechte on Wed, 20 June 2007 07:24
		Re: main or procedure By: David Fanning on Wed, 20 June 2007 07:00
		Re: main or procedure By: Carsten Lechte on Wed, 20 June 2007 06:07
		Re: main or procedure By: Conor on Wed, 20 June 2007 05:39
		Re: main or procedure By: David Fanning on Wed, 20 June 2007 05:20

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