Re: Typing in a widget_text crashes my C program!

[davidf(at)dfanning.com (David Fanning)]

Jason Weiss writes:

> Been using IDL (currently 5.4) for a while now, but I've come across a
> unexpected problem that has left me frustrated.   We are using some
> C-code to drive some electronics through a PCI card on our Sun Ultra
> 10.  During readout of our electronics, I noticed it would
> intermittently crash.  After weeks of mysterious crashes, I discovered
> the program crashes when I type into a widget_text box!

I've heard through the usually reliable grapevine that
this is a discovered and documented bug in the Sun version
of IDL 5.4. But even though a number of people have spent 
a lot of time looking at it, no one so far has been able
to pin-point the problem. It continues to be worked on.

The problem is made more difficult by the the use of
several different library routines from different vendors
in the affected code. The fact that the problem does not
appear in other UNIX versions suggests a problem in
a Sun library routine, but this is by no means
certain. RSI is working with Sun to identify and fix
the problem as soon as possible.

I'll let you know if I hear anything else.

Cheers,

David
  
David Fanning, Ph.D.
Fanning Software Consulting
Phone: 970-221-0438 E-Mail: davidf@dfanning.com
Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com/
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