From: Jonathan Ross
Subject: Weird file-open problem in Lucid CL (SGI)
Date:
Message-ID: <mhh59gINN2fk@news.bbn.com>
I have a user here whose natural langague application has a bizarre
problem. After reading in a large dictionary, it attempts to scan
several hundred files in an NFS-mounted directory, and randomly fails
to open one of them. Example (ellipses mine, for brevity)
>>Error: Cannot open file "/.../2985673.raw-tags"
- No such file or directory
OPEN:
Required arg 0 (PATHNAME): "/.../2985673.raw-tags"
Keyword arg 1 (DIRECTION): :INPUT
Keyword arg 2 (ELEMENT-TYPE): STRING-CHAR
Keyword arg 3 (IF-EXISTS): NIL
Keyword arg 4 (IF-DOES-NOT-EXIST): :ERROR
Keyword arg 5 (ATTRIBUTES): NIL
:C 0: Use a new pathname
1: Try loading "/.../classifier-driver.lisp" again
:A 2: Abort to Lisp Top Level
If we choose option 0 and hit RETURN, to proceed with the *SAME*
filename
-> 0
0
Use a new pathname
Filename (default is "/.../2985673.raw-tags"):
the open succeeds and the program continues. The aberrent behavior
does not always occur, nor does it occur on the same file. I tried to
duplicate it with multiple invocations of a Perl script that ate
several MB of core and then scanned all the tag files, to no avail.
The NFS directories are on an SGI host running IRIX 4.0.1. The buggy
Lisp is running on IRIX 4.0.1 and 4.0.5 hosts:
;;; Lucid Common Lisp/SGI
;;; Development Environment Version 3.0.2+, 19 June 1991
Our Sun 4 hosts, which are running
;;; Sun Common Lisp, Development Environment 4.0.1, 6 July 1990
;;; Sun-4 Version for SunOS 4.0.x and sunOS 4.1
do not have the problem.
Has anyone seen anything like this before?
------------- jonathan ross ------------- <······@bbn.com> -------------
Lisp in action is like a finely choreographed ballet.
Ada in action is like a waltz of drugged elephants.
C in action is like a sword dance on a freshly waxed floor.