xboard issue

[jdart]

I've recently put some work into getting my program to work more reliably on Linux. The Linux version has always been a port from Wnidows and is not tested as much. I fixed several problems though and it has been playing on ICS pretty regularly.

I am running xboard 4.4.2 compiled with "configure --disable-sigint and --enable-zippy". Same options I've used for years.

What I see though is that generally it will play 2-3 games and then the xboard iwill stop responding. If I type commands in the xboard window I get no server response. I have attached to the chess engine with the debugger and it looks fine - 3 of the 4 threads are in a waiting for a start signal (semaphore) - this is expected if it isn't p.laying - and the 4th thread is blocked waiting for server input (this is not buffered so if anything comes in it should be processed).

So the engine appears alive. When I log in through a different account it says ArasanX is not logged in - so it appears the xboard->ICS connection was dropped but no notification shows up in xboard. I have the autologout variable set true and not much time has elapsed since the last game anyway so normally I would expect it to stay connected.

Any pointers here? Looks like an xboard issue to me.

--Jon

[hgm]

Can you run XBoard with the option -debug and send me a copy of the xboard.ini file of a session when XBoard gets stuck? So that I could see what was the last thing it got from the engine or the ICS before it croaked?

It need not necessarily be an XBoard thing, btw; if the connection somehow goes zombie, there is no way XBoard could know that the ICS is not simply svery quiet. I have never experienced such a thing running XBoard on the Linux machine (Ubuntu 9.04) that I use for my ICS. Fairy-Max has been logged in there for weeks now, and it still is active.

Send to h.g.muller MAGICSIGN hccnet PERIOD nl

[bob]

Can you run XBoard with the option -debug and send me a copy of the xboard.ini file of a session when XBoard gets stuck? So that I could see what was the last thing it got from the engine or the ICS before it croaked?

It need not necessarily be an XBoard thing, btw; if the connection somehow goes zombie, there is no way XBoard could know that the ICS is not simply svery quiet. I have never experienced such a thing running XBoard on the Linux machine (Ubuntu 9.04) that I use for my ICS. Fairy-Max has been logged in there for weeks now, and it still is active.

Send to h.g.muller MAGICSIGN hccnet PERIOD nl

I see strangeness all the time, and I am parked on the internet2 backbone here. Yet connections still hang for no apparent reason between here and ICC. Often xboard will not notice and just sit until I log in and notice no games in hours and kill the process.

[jdart]

Ok, I am still investigating, but maybe it is my crappy DSL line then. The xboard debug output is not informative. I see something like the following - most of it is my own debug output, but it shows the standard commands to start a new game being received and processed. The last thing I get is "ping 9" and I send "pong 9":

5521078 <first : (debug) in save_game
5521080 <first : (debug) calling classify
5521080 <first : (debug) out of save_game
5521081 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): force
5521081 <first : (debug) do_command: force
5521081 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): ping 8
5521081 <first : (debug) do_command: ping 8
5521081 <first : pong 8
5521081 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): new
5521081 <first : (debug) do_command: new
5521081 <first : (debug) in save_game
5521081 <first : (debug) out of save_game
<ICS: Your ad is #242\015\012(ad sent to 634 players, of whom 108 are eligible)\015\012Your \
ad is #275\015\012(ad sent to 634 players, of whom 101 are eligible)\015\012aics%
ics input 0, castling = 7 0 4 7 0 4
wrap(count:140,width:80,line:6,len:140,*lp:6,src: Your ad is #242\012(ad sent to 634 players\
, of whom 108 are eligible)\012Your ad is #275\012(ad sent to 634 players, of whom 101 are e\
ligible)\012aics%
dest: Your ad is #242\012(ad sent to 634 players, of whom 108 are eligible)\012Your ad is #2\
75\012(ad sent to 634 players, of whom 101 are eligible)\012aics%
5521187 <first : kib Hello from Arasan 11.7
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): random
5521187 <first : (debug) do_command: random
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): ics chessclub.com
5521187 <first : (debug) do_command: ics chessclub.com
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): post
5521187 <first : (debug) do_command: post
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): hard
5521187 <first : (debug) do_command: hard
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): ping 9
5521187 <first : (debug) do_command: ping 9
5521187 <first : pong 9
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0

[bob]

Ok, I am still investigating, but maybe it is my crappy DSL line then. The xboard debug output is not informative. I see something like the following - most of it is my own debug output, but it shows the standard commands to start a new game being received and processed. The last thing I get is "ping 9" and I send "pong 9":

5521078 <first : (debug) in save_game
5521080 <first : (debug) calling classify
5521080 <first : (debug) out of save_game
5521081 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): force
5521081 <first : (debug) do_command: force
5521081 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): ping 8
5521081 <first : (debug) do_command: ping 8
5521081 <first : pong 8
5521081 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521081 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): new
5521081 <first : (debug) do_command: new
5521081 <first : (debug) in save_game
5521081 <first : (debug) out of save_game
<ICS: Your ad is #242\015\012(ad sent to 634 players, of whom 108 are eligible)\015\012Your \
ad is #275\015\012(ad sent to 634 players, of whom 101 are eligible)\015\012aics%
ics input 0, castling = 7 0 4 7 0 4
wrap(count:140,width:80,line:6,len:140,*lp:6,src: Your ad is #242\012(ad sent to 634 players\
, of whom 108 are eligible)\012Your ad is #275\012(ad sent to 634 players, of whom 101 are e\
ligible)\012aics%
dest: Your ad is #242\012(ad sent to 634 players, of whom 108 are eligible)\012Your ad is #2\
75\012(ad sent to 634 players, of whom 101 are eligible)\012aics%
5521187 <first : kib Hello from Arasan 11.7
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): random
5521187 <first : (debug) do_command: random
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): ics chessclub.com
5521187 <first : (debug) do_command: ics chessclub.com
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): post
5521187 <first : (debug) do_command: post
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): hard
5521187 <first : (debug) do_command: hard
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) got cmd (main): ping 9
5521187 <first : (debug) do_command: ping 9
5521187 <first : pong 9
5521187 <first : (debug) in do_pending, list size=0
5521187 <first : (debug) out of do_pending, list size=0

That could be it. I had, at one point, talked to Tim about adding an occasional "ping" type operation to the remote end, and if nothing comes back after a couple of them, then xboard would terminate with an error. I modified an early version to do that myself, because it was annoying to come in and find everything still logged in (so it thought) but no traffic because the connection was somehow broken.

[jdart]

That could be it. I had, at one point, talked to Tim about adding an occasional "ping" type operation to the remote end..

.

That is a good idea. It could perhaps send an invalid command and see if any error response comes back.

--Jon

[Peter Skinner]

Sorry for a quick hijack here...

xBoard is at version 4.4.2? And Winboard is at 4.4.1? Correct?

I don't see a new version on the Winboard forums.

[Charles B.]

Winboard 4.4.2 can be compiled from the sources here.

http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/xboard.git

v4.4.2 xboard-4.4.2.tar.gz

No official release of it that I know of.

[jdart]

4.4.2 is the current version on gnu.org and its numerous mirror sites.

--Jon

[Charles B.]

Thanks, by No official release of it that I know of, I meant not released on the Winboard forum yet - the installer package.