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can't shut down a5

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    can't shut down a5

    For the first time, I had an odd experience while adding some records to A5: it would not let me shut down. Every time I tried, it said, ":nameoftable:tables:nameoftable not found. " I used "name of table" for the otherwise meaningless name of my dbf.

    When I tried some other operations as an experiment, it told me that it did not have exclusive use to the table and could not edit it.

    I am not on a network, no other copies were open.

    I finally used ctrl-alt-del to shut down. All data seems to remain in intact, incl that newly entered.

    Any thoughts on what this problem was, and whether it is endangering the integrity of the dbf?

    #2
    RE: can't shut down a5

    Although disconcerting, your database is probably quite safe. I'd bring up the control panel and compact the database to clear out any junk.

    Comment


      #3
      RE: can't shut down a5

      Seems fine....I did what you suggested. It opened fine even before I compacted, showing no problems on reopening and having lost no data. But this was a curious problem.....

      Comment


        #4
        RE: can't shut down a5

        It sounds like for some reason a table was left open and locked. This may have been caused by an action that opened a table but didn't close it or by an "anomoly" That's the computer term for "who knows?". If it every happens again, try reconstructing the actions that led up to it. Sometimes little bugs only show up under a specific sequence of events.

        Another possibility is a timing issue. Sometimes a script or other action takes a noticeable amount of time to complete. If another action requires the result of that action and the first action is not complete, a conflict or crash can occur. I have one app that loads a lot of code on start up. If I try real hard and click a specific button very quickly, I can crash it as the form loads.

        Jerry

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          #5
          RE: can't shut down a5

          monsierums,

          If the integrity of your data is important, it might be prudent to work with discardable tables during development. It's entirely possible to build scripts which will mangle your data without meaning to. In my own work I never work with 'live' data, always with throw away copies.

          -- tom

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            #6
            RE: can't shut down a5

            amen
            Bill Hanigsberg

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              #7
              RE: can't shut down a5

              Thanks. I never work with scripts actually, though.
              This was just routine data entry and modification of routine records.

              Comment


                #8
                RE: can't shut down a5

                monsieurms,

                I've fairly sure that Alpha was working with a data file in this case and lost track of the filehandle used to open it. This meant Alpha was unable to open the file again since you have a single user license and could not close the file when you went to exit. Normally you can close in the face of lost filehandles, so maybe you had a process stuck open or still running at that time which never completed.

                If you've been writing code, have a look and check it for processes that might leave a file hanging open, rename a filehandle, or do these things to the underlying file. Processes can sometimes invisibly crash too. One of my favorites "crashes" was a corrupted index whose nose ran back to its tail, so an index search became an endless treadmill for the program!

                Dave

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                  #9
                  RE: can't shut down a5

                  Thanks--I write no code or scripts, though. This was simple data entry in a db with two tables (one of which is rarely used). I guess nothing awful happened, although I had some panic at the time. :) The data is intact, the new records are there, and the program opened correctly next time. But when you're entering data, these types of messages sure aren't what you want to see!

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