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Log Files and Error Reporting
While Xic is running, various log files are produced. These files
contain a record of operations and errors, which may be useful for
debugging purposes. Ordinarily, though, many of the log files are
rarely used, and these files are stored in a temporary directory which
is removed when Xic exits normally. Other log files, such as DRC
error reports, are saved in the current directory and are not removed
on exit.
Below is a listing of the log files that are saved in a temporary
directory. The files in this directory can be browsed from within
Xic with the !logfiles command.
- xic_run.log
This file contains a listing of key press/release and mouse button
press/release events, in a format which can be understood as script
instructions. Although presently this feature in incomplete, the
instructions can be used to ``play back'' the current session by
executing the log file as a script. The file is limited in size to
about 100Kb, at which point the file is given a ``.0'' extension
and a new file is started. If Xic should ever crash or otherwise
misbehave, the current xic_run.log should be included with the
bug report sent to Whiteley Research. This will greatly help in
tracking down the problem.
- xic_error.log
This file contains a list of error messages generated during the
session. The previous 10 errors are displayed in the error pop-up
window in Xic, but the xic_error.log file retains a complete
record. This file may also be of use in diagnosing problems within
Xic, and should be included with the bug report if it contains an
entry relevant to the problem.
- xic_mem_errors.log
This file, used under Unix/Linux only, is generated or appended to if
memory corruption is detected. If this file exists when Xic exits,
it will be emailed to Whiteley Research (by default). However, if
XICNOMAIL is set in the environment, the file will instead be
moved to the current directory, and a message will be printed
requesting that the user mail it to Whiteley Research. Memory
corruption should never occur, and this file contains stack trace
information that will help identify the problem.
These files contain messages emitted when a file is read into Xic
for editing. The file name generated depends on the type of file read.
These files contain messages emitted when a file is written to disk.
The file name generated depends on the type of file written.
These files contain messages emitted when a non-native file is
converted directly to another format through the commands in the Convert Menu.
The size of the log files that grow progressively as Xic is running
are size-limited to about 100Kb. If the file exceeds this size, the
file is moved to the same name with a ``.0'' extension, and the
original log file is reopened. Thus, a maximum of 200Kb per log of
information is retained.
The environment variable XIC_LOGDIR can be set to an existing
directory that will be used to store the log files. The log files
will be placed in a directory
logdir/xic.pid
where logdir is the first defined of the environment variables
XIC_LOGDIR, XIC_TMP_DIR, TMPDIR, or defaults to
``/tmp''. The pid is the process id of the Xic
process. This directory is created when Xic starts, and is deleted
when Xic terminates normally. If Xic terminates abnormally, the
log files will still be around for inspection. If a user needs to
look at a log file after running Xic, the file must be copied to
another location before exiting Xic. The !logfiles command
can be used to read logfiles from within Xic.
This mechanism lets multiple copies of Xic run on the same machine
from any directory, and minimizes the pollution of the file system and
in particular the current directory with a lot of generally unused log
files.
If Xic experiences an internal memory referencing error, Xic
will terminate. Such occurrences should be rare to nonexistent,
however this is the ideal and generally not the reality. During a
``panic'', the following will happen:
- All cells in memory that have the modified flag set will be
written to the current directory, with a suffix ``.panic'' added
to the normal file name. Although it can not be guaranteed that these
files are not corrupted by whatever error occurred, generally they are
clean and accurately reflect unsaved work. After a thorough check,
they can be copied back to the original file name.
- A file named ``xic_panic.log'' is created in the current
directory. This contains the log messages emitted while the modified
cells are being dumped, and other information.
- The log files that are normally removed after normal exit are
retained. The location of the log files is given in the xic_panic.log file.
- Unless either of the environment variables XICNOMAIL or
XICNOGDB is set, a stack trace is emailed to Whiteley Research,
which will be analyzed to resolve the cause of the fault, and if
possible the problem will be fixed in the next Xic release. The
file that is emailed is named ``xic.stackdump'' under Windows,
or ``gdbout'' under Unix/Linux. The file will be created in the
current directory, but under Unix/Linux, only if the gdb
debugger is present on the system.
Next: Menus and Operations
Up: Starting Xic
Previous: Initialization Files
Contents
Index
Stephen R. Whiteley
2006-10-23