aquamacs gone idle?

[Robert Harper]

hello everyone,

thank you all so much for creating aquamacs.  i've been using it daily for many years.  i've grown concerned, however, that i cannot continue to do so, because of increasing instability.  i find that aquamacs crashes with increasing frequency.  recently it often happens (but i don't know how to reproduce it at will) that i am merely typing on the command line in my shell buffer, and BAM aquamacs crashes.  i've stopped filing bug reports, because it's certainly redundant at this point.  but i am wondering whether anyone is listening?  is aquamacs a lost cause?  is there no hope for any remedy of these bugs?  i don't mean to complain, i realize that i've been relying on the generosity of many people for many years.  but at some point i have to decide whether to give up.

any advice would be appreciated.

regards,

bob harper

[David Reitter]

Bob,

Thanks for your message.

As you know, the bytes that make up your copy of Aquamacs haven’t somehow “gone bad” recently. Globally speaking, I’m not receiving more crash reports than usual. From the automated reports you submitted, I can tell that some of the crashes represent a generally known problem with image caching, specifically the toolbar images. I have not been able to figure this one out. Unsurprisingly for a cache problem, it is difficult to come up with a reproducible test case.

I would suggest you install the latest development build: http://aquamacs.org/nightlies.shtml

The feature changes compared to 3.3 are shown below.

David





Aquamacs no longer sets colors in `default-frame-alist' as a default to
make customization with themes easier.
`aquamacs-styles' has been removed. (Deprecated in version 1.6.)
Printing at 100 uses a reasonable font size. Also, printing respects scaled font size again.
Reported by Matthew Cornell.
Scrolling with the mouse has been adjusted (less jerky, but progressive). Reported by Sam Coskey and David Poole;
code contribution by Jamie Taylor.
Bugs in version checking fixed (redirecting Wifi landing pages; menu item use).
AUCTeX has been updated to version 12.1 (from version 11.89). This improves command completion and fixes bugs. See here for further changes: http://www.gnu.org/software/auctex/manual/auctex/Changes.html.
OneOnOne package (by Drew Adams) updated.


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[Robert Harper]

hi david,

thank you for the quick reply.  i take your point about bit rot, but the fact is, for reasons unknown to me, aquamacs gets more and more unstable.  it's to the point now where it crashes a couple of times a day!  why it would get worse, i have no idea!

i'll try the nightly build and see if that improves matters, and i will go back to filing bug reports in the hope that one will reveal the cause.  i'm not aware of fiddling with any images in my setup, so i wonder what it could be?

best,

bob

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Bob Harper

[David Reitter]

Bob,
More crash reports will not help matters.
Copy your configuration somewhere and delete it - I’m talking about the various Aquamacs folders in ~/Library and make ~/.emacs.d

David

[Robert Harper]

hi david,

i've been travelling and am now getting back to my aquamacs difficulties.  i'm using the nightly build you linked me to, and am walking back all configuration files, starting from scratch.  as matters now stand, on startup i get the following messages:

Loading prestart plugin files ...

... done.

Wrote /Users/rwh/Library/Preferences/Aquamacs Emacs/Packages/.nosearch

Shell: /bin/bash

Warning: Key <remap> <scroll-up> already bound to `cua-scroll-up' by minor modes (cua-mode).  Use ‘define-key’ instead.

Warning: Key <remap> <scroll-down> already bound to `cua-scroll-down' by minor modes (cua-mode).  Use ‘define-key’ instead.

Loading /Users/rwh/Library/Preferences/Aquamacs Emacs/Recent Files.el (source)...done

Cleaning up the recentf list...done (0 removed)

Mark set

one-buffer-one-frame-mode disabled.

27 environment variables imported from login shell (/bin/bash).

Loading /Users/rwh/Desktop/Aquamacs.app/Contents/Resources/lisp/aquamacs/edit-modes/tex-site.el (source)...done

Loading /Users/rwh/Desktop/Aquamacs.app/Contents/Resources/lisp/aquamacs/edit-modes/auctex.el (source)...done

Loading /Users/rwh/Desktop/Aquamacs.app/Contents/Resources/lisp/aquamacs/edit-modes/auctex/preview-latex.el (source)...done

Loading /Users/rwh/Desktop/Aquamacs.app/Contents/Resources/lisp/aquamacs/edit-modes/auctex/preview-latex.el (source)...done

Loading plugins ...

Loading /Users/rwh/Desktop/Aquamacs.app/Contents/Resources/lisp/aquamacs/site-start.el (source)...done

... done.

Loading /Users/rwh/Library/Preferences/Aquamacs Emacs/customizations.el (source)...

one-buffer-one-frame-mode enabled.

Loading /Users/rwh/Library/Preferences/Aquamacs Emacs/customizations.el (source)...done

Loading /Users/rwh/Library/Preferences/Aquamacs Emacs/Preferences.el (source)...

package-read-archive-contents: Wrong type argument: listp, <!DOCTYPE

Type "q" to quit the help frame.

i cannot explain the last item!

any help would be appreciated!

bob harper

[David Reitter]

Look at the file that’s being loaded there. It’s a user edited file. You should definitely not have any HTML in there ...

[Robert Harper]

right, and i don't have any! it's an el file.

[David Reitter]

Does the error go away if you remove the file?

[Robert Harper]

nope, but the log looks a little different:

Loading prestart plugin files ...

... done.

Wrote /Users/rwh/Library/Preferences/Aquamacs Emacs/Packages/.nosearch

Shell: /bin/bash

Warning: Key <remap> <scroll-up> already bound to `cua-scroll-up' by minor modes (cua-mode).  Use ‘define-key’ instead.

Warning: Key <remap> <scroll-down> already bound to `cua-scroll-down' by minor modes (cua-mode).  Use ‘define-key’ instead.

Loading /Users/rwh/Library/Preferences/Aquamacs Emacs/Recent Files.el (source)...done

Cleaning up the recentf list...done (0 removed)

Mark set

one-buffer-one-frame-mode disabled.

27 environment variables imported from login shell (/bin/bash).

Loading /Users/rwh/Desktop/Aquamacs.app/Contents/Resources/lisp/aquamacs/edit-modes/tex-site.el (source)...done

Loading /Users/rwh/Desktop/Aquamacs.app/Contents/Resources/lisp/aquamacs/edit-modes/auctex.el (source)...done

Loading /Users/rwh/Desktop/Aquamacs.app/Contents/Resources/lisp/aquamacs/edit-modes/auctex/preview-latex.el (source)...done

Loading /Users/rwh/Desktop/Aquamacs.app/Contents/Resources/lisp/aquamacs/edit-modes/auctex/preview-latex.el (source)...done

Loading plugins ...

Loading /Users/rwh/Desktop/Aquamacs.app/Contents/Resources/lisp/aquamacs/site-start.el (source)...done

... done.

Loading /Users/rwh/Library/Preferences/Aquamacs Emacs/customizations.el (source)...

one-buffer-one-frame-mode enabled.

Loading /Users/rwh/Library/Preferences/Aquamacs Emacs/customizations.el (source)...done

Loading /Users/rwh/Library/Preferences/Aquamacs Emacs/Preferences.el (source)...done

Saving file /Users/rwh/.emacs...

Wrote /Users/rwh/.emacs [2 times]

package-read-archive-contents: Wrong type argument: listp, <!DOCTYPE

[Robert Harper]

it wrote (package-initialize) in my .emacs file, which was in the Preferences.el file.  that's what's causing the error, because now when i restart, it bombs out while loading .emacs with the same weird error message.

bob

--

Bob Harper

[David Reitter]

Take a look at the variable package-load-list. This should give you an idea what is being loaded when package-initialize is called.

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[Robert Harper]

i don't set that variable.  i looked it up in customize, and checked its binding, it is set to "all" ,which is the default.

[Robert Harper]

by simply deleting the archived contents in the Packages sub-directory, i got rid of the DOCTYPE error.

working my way slowly back to sanity.

bob

--

Bob Harper

[Robert Harper]

it appears that if an error occurs in the Preferences.el file (in my case, invoking a shell command that no longer exists), you get a weird error message saying that the buffer "Messages" is read-only, with no other indication of what went wrong.  it's impossible to interpret, so i just did trial-and-error until i figured.

bob

--

Bob Harper

[David Reitter]

On Jul 24, 2018, at 12:11 PM, Robert Harper <bobh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> it appears that if an error occurs in the Preferences.el file (in my case, invoking a shell command that no longer exists), you get a weird error message saying that the buffer "Messages" is read-only, with no other indication of what went wrong. it's impossible to interpret, so i just did trial-and-error until i figured.

Ah, that’s not good at all. I just checked in a fix for that. Thanks for letting me know.

Are the crashes gone?

[Robert Harper]

unfortunately not.  i sent in a bug report after a crash just an hour or so ago.  it crashes quite frequently, even in its "stripped down" state.  for me it happens when using auctex and an external previewer.  i will try to narrow it down if i can.

bob

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Bob Harper

[David Reitter]

On Jul 24, 2018, at 3:15 PM, Robert Harper <bobh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> unfortunately not. i sent in a bug report after a crash just an hour or so ago. it crashes quite frequently, even in its "stripped down" state. for me it happens when using auctex and an external previewer. i will try to narrow it down if i can.

Looking at your bug report:

12 com.apple.AppKit 0x00007fff5355e9cd -[NSButtonCell _hasRolloverContentArt] + 43
13 com.apple.AppKit 0x00007fff5355e95c hasAnyRollover + 183
14 com.apple.AppKit 0x00007fff5355e6bc -[NSButtonCell _updateMouseTracking] + 142
…
22 com.apple.AppKit 0x00007fff535c4303 -[NSToolbar _setConfigurationFromDictionary:notifyFamilyAndUpdateDefaults:upgradedConfiguration:] + 425
23 org.gnu.Aquamacs 0x00000001001d9c50 update_frame_tool_bar + 1168
24 org.gnu.Aquamacs 0x000000010005504a redisplay_window + 25706


Try turning off the toolbar in Options -> User Interface.

David

[Robert Harper]

will do.  is there a build with the messages buffer read-only problem fixed?  i keep getting that message on startup, and can't debug it.

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Bob Harper

[Jean-Christophe Helary]

On Jul 25, 2018, at 5:57, Robert Harper <bobh...@gmail.com> wrote:

will do.  is there a build with the messages buffer read-only problem fixed?  i keep getting that message on startup, and can't debug it.

It looks like David's commit is included in the nightly:

http://aquamacs.org/nightlies.shtml#changelog-latest

https://github.com/davidswelt/aquamacs-emacs/commits/aquamacs3

Jean-Christophe 

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Jean-Christophe Helary
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http://mac4translators.blogspot.com @brandelune

[David Reitter]

On Jul 24, 2018, at 5:10 PM, Jean-Christophe Helary <jean.christ...@gmail.com> wrote:

>> will do. is there a build with the messages buffer read-only problem fixed? i keep getting that message on startup, and can't debug it.
>
> It looks like David's commit is included in the nightly:
> http://aquamacs.org/nightlies.shtml#changelog-latest
>
> https://github.com/davidswelt/aquamacs-emacs/commits/aquamacs3

Not yet. What you are looking at above are the commits that are in our git repository. The nightly build, as the name says, runs every night. And unlike its name says, it also runs once during the day.

To see the latest change included in the last build, check the top of the build log here:

http://jazz.aquamacs.org/~dreitter/Aquamacs/latest/aquamacs-build.log

As of right now it says "Latest change: acee44f Remove spaces from names in Help Viewer directories”.

[Robert Harper]

thanks.  i just downloaded the nightly at the url you gave, and it does the same thing about *Messages* being read-only, and i remain mystified as to what this is about.  it tells me that there's an init file problem, but i haven't yet figured what it would be.

btw, when i run any version of Aquamacs with --debug-init, it starts up but never displays a window.  i can select from the menus as usual, but nothing happens---no window will display.  there's a window named Backtrace, or similar, which is likely what i want to see, but i can't view it.

bob

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Bob Harper

[Robert Harper]

ps: turned off the toolbar using customization, let's see if that makes it any more stable.

bob

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Bob Harper

[David Reitter]

Bob,

On Jul 24, 2018, at 7:48 PM, Robert Harper <bobh...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> thanks. i just downloaded the nightly at the url you gave, and it does the same thing about *Messages* being read-only, and i remain mystified as to what this is about. it tells me that there's an init file problem, but i haven't yet figured what it would be.

Did you read my response to JC?

> btw, when i run any version of Aquamacs with --debug-init, it starts up but never displays a window. i can select from the menus as usual, but nothing happens---no window will display. there's a window named Backtrace, or similar, which is likely what i want to see, but i can't view it.

I’ll look into it.

[Robert Harper]

Thanks, I had misunderstood it.  The nightly I just downloaded fixes the messaging problem on startup.  I have turned off the toolbar, and will have to see over time whether that improves stability.  I've never been able to predict when it will crash, so I cannot produce a specific test.

I never understood the weird <!DOCTYPE error, but removing all packages and starting over seems to have resolved it.

AFAIK the --debug-init problem remains, but is not part of anyone's daily usage, it's just a peculiarity.

It is well-confirmed that all software breaks in my hands, so please consider me to be a useful debugging tool.

Best,

Bob Harper

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Bob Harper

[David Reitter]

On Jul 25, 2018, at 11:13 AM, Robert Harper <bobh...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I never understood the weird <!DOCTYPE error, but removing all packages and starting over seems to have resolved it.

Some package will have caused it….

> AFAIK the --debug-init problem remains, but is not part of anyone's daily usage, it's just a peculiarity.

Yes, I just fixed that.

> It is well-confirmed that all software breaks in my hands, so please consider me to be a useful debugging tool.

You are. Please keep reporting. If we find a reproducible way to address the image-related crash, that would give me a chance to finally fix it :)

[Robert Harper]

hi david,

two things to mention.  since running without the tool bar, i have not had any crashes.  i also remembered that, at least when i was using the tool bar, that aquamacs was much more unstable if i were ever to use fully expanded windows (the green button on the upper left of a mac window expands to full screen).  i had stopped using full screen for that reason, but i may now try it again without the tool bar and see what happens.

best,

bob harper

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Bob Harper

[Iliya Lefterov]

Bob,

You will never have this problem if you, as a highly experienced emacs user, install and run

https://github.com/railwaycat/homebrew-emacsmacport/releases

You will never have plenty of other problems either, and if you know how to implement the advantages of Aquamacs, you will reach a great productivity… 

yes… I know, it is not the  greatest demonstration of loyalty,  but we all know how great of a work Dave has done…

-I.

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