🚀 go-pugleaf

I should add:
1. I use code generated by gcc and cc mixed together
2. This is not a pure UNIX code but rather a NeXTstep
application
3. It seems the error is not reproducable: when I log
back in again and execute the very same code the machine
does not crash again.

Ciao W. 

In article <1992Apr13.232753.25043@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>  
schildba@spot.Colorado.EDU (Wolfgang Schildbach) writes:

>  every once in a while it happens to me that upon executing my code
>  the NeXT just kills *ALL* my processes, logs me out and leaves me
>  with the login screen. My understanding of UNIX is that no matter
>  how nasty a program, it should never infringe on other processes.
>  
>  What could cause these nasty crashes?

That is your Windowserver dying.  You are right about Unix.  When the window  
server dies, it doesn't affect any other processes EXCEPT NeXTstep process like  
Workspace and all your apps since they rely on the Windowserver for everything.   
When the Windowserver dies, it takes all of your NeXTstep apps along with it.   
Anyone logged in over the network won't notice...

Generally it takes some pretty wicked PostScript code or a bug to crash the  
windowserver...


andrew
-- 
andrew@cubetech.com
Andrew Loewenstern            |  "listen: there's a hell of a good universe
Cube Technologies, Inc.       |   next door; let's go." --- e.e. cummings

In article <1992Apr13.232753.25043@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>  
schildba@spot.Colorado.EDU (Wolfgang Schildbach) writes:
|> Hi,
|> 
|> every once in a while it happens to me that upon executing my code
|> the NeXT just kills *ALL* my processes, logs me out and leaves me
|> with the login screen. My understanding of UNIX is that no matter
|> how nasty a program, it should never infringe on other processes.
|> 
|> What could cause these nasty crashes?
|> 
|> Ciao W.
I've seen this as well. It appears that killing postscript/windowserver
with some sort of nasty postscript can cause this.

Killing all your processes and restarting the window server makes sense,
without a working postscript you aren't going to see very much.

Of course, if postscript didn't die in the first place...

Note, I've had some weirdness out of these restarts. The mail program lock's
the mail file. And when it gets killed it doesn't always seem to unlock the
file before dying. Which brings up an alert panel after you log back in and
run it again.

Scotty

In article <1992Apr13.232753.25043@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>  
schildba@spot.Colorado.EDU (Wolfgang Schildbach) writes:
> every once in a while it happens to me that upon executing my code
> the NeXT just kills *ALL* my processes, logs me out and leaves me
> with the login screen. My understanding of UNIX is that no matter
> how nasty a program, it should never infringe on other processes.
> 
> What could cause these nasty crashes?
> 
Kernel bug.
-- 

................................................................simson

In article <1992Apr13.232753.25043@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>  
schildba@spot.Colorado.EDU (Wolfgang Schildbach) writes:
> Hi,
> 
> every once in a while it happens to me that upon executing my code
> the NeXT just kills *ALL* my processes, logs me out and leaves me
> with the login screen. My understanding of UNIX is that no matter
> how nasty a program, it should never infringe on other processes.
> 
> What could cause these nasty crashes?
> 
> Ciao W.

My guess is that your crashing the window server.  I think there are still  
nasty bugs in the window server code that can make it crash.  And, when it  
crashes it takes everything else with it.  Supposedly, there was some garbage  
collection problem in 2.0 that is fixed in 2.1, although I still see this kind  
of crash.  Also, one of our marketing people has seen FrameMaker and TopDraw  
make this violent crash happen.  It's impossible to predict or duplicate which  
makes it hard to submit a bug report of any consequence.

Sorry I couldn't be more help, but noone I've talked to seems to know anything  
about why the window server crashes randomly like that.  It would be really  
cool if someone at NeXT could comment on this since I've seen this happen in  
several Apps.  

Another awful thing about this kind of bug is that if your App is the one  
causing the crash, it's impossible to find out what you are sending to the  
window server that could be causing such a bug so that you could, at least,  
work around it.

If you do get any resolution on this, I'd be interested in hearing about it.

Chris Chauvin
chauvin@pencom.com
Pencom Software
(512) 343-1111

In article <1992Apr13.232753.25043@ucsu.Colorado.EDU>  
schildba@spot.Colorado.EDU (Wolfgang Schildbach) writes:
> Hi,
> 
> every once in a while it happens to me that upon executing my code
> the NeXT just kills *ALL* my processes, logs me out and leaves me
> with the login screen. My understanding of UNIX is that no matter
> how nasty a program, it should never infringe on other processes.
> 
> What could cause these nasty crashes?

Sounds like the window server dying. The window server is not perfect, and  
malicious / unusual /  flaky PostScript can tip it over the edge. Of  
course, when the server dies, so do all its clients.

I can do this relatively easily from pft or yap, but it isn't always  
reproducible. TopDraw does this quite frequently as well.

(Want to really have a blast? Try resizing an AppKit-managed window from  
within pft. It does interesting things...)

-Anthony