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Re: Activating debug screen issue: DEC window and Reflection X

 
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Arch_Muthiah
Honored Contributor

Activating debug screen issue: DEC window and Reflection X

All,

VMS Env: IA64/VMS8.2-1/DWMotif 1.5/TCPIP 5.5-11. I have installed all the patches.
windows Env: I have Relfection X 14.0.5

Application env:
My application's GUI runs in MS Window and other part is in IA64/VMS. Windows sends the request to VMS with specfic port, VMS deamon process listens and starts the application EXEs and returns the result back to windows.

Issue Details: activating debugger screen on reflection.

When windows requests to run the particular VMS module thru specific port over TCPIP, a specific VMS daemon service which LISTENS the windows request starts EXEcuting a COM procedure which has only one command $ Run/NODEBUG XXX.EXE, this works fine. But RUN/DEBUG XXX.EXE does not bring up the debug screen. No erro info also.

How may I debug in this situation. how I configure reflection server and clients (I have less experience with Reflection X)

Currently I have no problem connecting to VMS using Reflection Host connection software. On this connection, I get...
$ sh disp
%DECW-W-OPENIN, error opening DECW$DISPLAY as input
-SYSTEM-W-NOSUCHDEV, no such device available

And on Reflection X client seems works fine, on this screen...
$ sh disp
Device: WSA17: [super]
Node: 10.160.6.18
Transport: TCPIP
Server: 0
Screen: 0

If I run $ RUN/debug XXX.EXE directly on these two connection, debug works fine. But the problem is when windows request to run the above COM procedure, it does not start the debuger.

Long back I posted this type of issue, John helped me. but finally I put the Alpha server in my cubic and connected my terminal direfctly to the Alpha/OpenVMS8.2 server and it worked. Now I can't bring the Itanium rx2660 server to my cubic and HP suggested not connect any mouse or Keyboard. We can connect PC to console line, but that PC again we needs reflection to be installed.

Thanks
Archie
Regards
Archie
8 REPLIES 8
Hoff
Honored Contributor

Re: Activating debug screen issue: DEC window and Reflection X

If I've parsed all that correctly...

Easiest approaches are to use the character cell debugger interface from within tha daemon, or to aim the debugger DECwindows display back to your X Window Server using SET DISPLAY.

One of the slightly more advanced approaches here is to aim an application-created DECterm somewhere useful, and aim the character cell debugger display at that DECterm. There is an available API for creating a DECterm terminal. And that debugger session then gets displayed where ever the DECterm is aimed.

The following article describes some of the various ways of debugging a detached server (daemon) process on OpenVMS:

http://64.223.189.234/node/803

Using the DECterm-based debugging approach does require some (usually simple) application changes, though this sort of integrated debugging can often bring various support advantages.


Richard J Maher
Trusted Contributor

Re: Activating debug screen issue: DEC window and Reflection X

Hi Archunan,

Someone else may have the exact commands to hand, but for a starter: -

look at $set term/create using TCP/IP ast the transport and an IP address that goes back to your PC

Make sure your running eXcursion (or whatever) X server on your PC

I don't think the logicalls decw$display and dbg$decw$display are needed here (but what the hell, look 'em up :-)

Be aware that you can also call lib$signal from inside the image rather than having the whole image $RUN/DEBUG

If you're still in trouble I'll find the exact commands when I get to the office.

Cheers Richard Maher.

PS. Talking to a VMS Daemon from Windows? What an amazing idea :-) Of course for the last 10 years everyone in VMS has said you'll never want to do that!

Java Applet Sockets, Flex Sockets, Silverlight Sockets, HTML5 WebSockets. . .

I mean what's it all about???

Apparently you *really* should look at WSIT and SOAP :-(
Hoff
Honored Contributor
Solution

Re: Activating debug screen issue: DEC window and Reflection X

> look at $set term/create using TCP/IP ast the transport and an IP address that goes back to your PC

The SET DISPLAY /CREATE command will get you further. Unless you were aiming for CREATE /TERMINAL, and that's the command-level interface for the DECterm API.

> Make sure your running eXcursion (or whatever) X server on your PC

Correct. Or get a box that provides an X server for you. Ensure access is open. This can include static authentication, or ssh -Y or other mechanisms.

> I don't think the logicalls decw$display and dbg$decw$display are needed here (but what the hell, look 'em up :-)

Interestingly enough, the translation of the logical name DECW$DISPLAY is where the default value for the X display is stored when the application itself doesn't specify an X target explicitly; when you issue a SET DISPLAY /CREATE command.

DBG$DECW$DISPLAY can be involved if the application itself has an X display or if you otherwise wish to force the debugger to not open an X display; to use the character cell interface. If you're opening a debug session in a DECterm, that definition might be considered unnecessary baggage, or it might not. (I prefer to add it, when I'm working with the DECterm interface and the debugger.) If somebody has left DECW$DISPLAY defined somewhere on the system or somewhere upstream in the process context, the DBG$DECW$DISPLAY definition will avoid having the debugger vector its display elsewhere (unexpectedly).

There's a pretty good write-up on how this X stuff all fits together over on the mvb.saic.com site; in some of the old DECUS symposium archives.
Arch_Muthiah
Honored Contributor

Re: Activating debug screen issue: DEC window and Reflection X

Hoff/Richard,

Thanks for your valuable timings to respond to me. As per both of your suggestion, I tried $set display,,,. define DBG$input and DBG$output to term name. Even I tried from character based terminal, and directly from console term also. Nothing worked in this case.

Then when I google, I found many info posted by Hoff including on his website. Then I defined DECW$display in system table instead of job table level, it brought up the DBG screen!!! surprisingly.

Thanks Richard and Hoff
Archie
Regards
Archie
Richard J Maher
Trusted Contributor

Re: Activating debug screen issue: DEC window and Reflection X

Hi Archie,

On re-reading this, Hoff's post were a lot more info-rich than mine so thanks for the acknowledgement anyway.

But I wasn't quite sure from your reply if you ended up with a DECterm character cell debug session or the GUI? (COMPAQ spidery one)

Also, if you have the time, I'm curious as to how many users you have doing this (simultaneously vs otherwise) and how often this function may be performed per each user?

Cheers Richard Maher
Hoff
Honored Contributor

Re: Activating debug screen issue: DEC window and Reflection X

> But I wasn't quite sure from your reply if you ended up with a DECterm character cell debug session or the GUI? (COMPAQ spidery one)

OP received the X interface to the debugger, based on the sequence and the comments. Not the character cell interface for the debugger.

> Also, if you have the time, I'm curious as to how many users you have doing this (simultaneously vs otherwise) and how often this function may be performed per each user?

The OP will have to answer one part of this, though another part of this can be answered from out here in the peanut gallery.

OP implemented this sequence system wide; the detached process didn't have a local definition in its process (or in the group) table, and thus the debugger had failed prior to adding the display target in the system table.

There are various ways to do this per-process; see /node/803 for the C code for one approach toward that end using DECterm. Or create and pass in the WS device as the SYS$ERROR device for the created process. (I've posted some details on how to manipulate the WS device using direct sys$qio calls, as have other folks. See /node/375 on the web site for code, etc.)

Or the OP's system-wide solution; that works, too.
Richard J Maher
Trusted Contributor

Re: Activating debug screen issue: DEC window and Reflection X

Hi Steve,

ME: Also, if you have the time, I'm curious as to how many users you have doing this (simultaneously vs otherwise) and how often this function may be performed per each user?

YOU: The OP will have to answer one part of this, though another part of this can be answered from out here in the peanut gallery.


NEW: Sorry to be ambiguous. I was curious about how many end-users Archie had running his application and creating detached processes on the server in production, rather than how many people he had debugging.

Cheers Richard
Wim Van den Wyngaert
Honored Contributor

Re: Activating debug screen issue: DEC window and Reflection X

Archu,

I think /group instead of /system will work too. That's what we do in a certain application.

Wim
Wim