As Konstantin pointed out correctly, the db_create_record() call is pretty
heavy since it copies whole structures around the ODB. Therefore, it
should not used frequently. It might be that several problems are caused
by that, for example the "phantom" records reported in elog:40 .
I have therefore implemented the function
db_check_record(HNDLE hDB, HNDLE hKey, char *keyname, char *rec_str,
BOOL correct)
which takes an ASCII structure in the same way as db_create_record(), but
only checks this ASCII structure against the ODB contents without writing
anything to the ODB.
If the record does not exist at all, it is created via db_create_record().
This is useful for example with the /Runinfo structure on a virgin ODB.
If the parameter "correct" is FALSE, the function returns
DB_STRUCT_MISMATCH if the ODB contents is wrong (wrong order of variables,
wrong name of variables, wrong type or array size). The calling function
should then abort, since a subsequent db_open_record() would fail. Note
that although abort() is useful, one should add cm_disconnect_experiment()
just before the abort() in order to have the application "log out" from
the ODB gracefully. If the parameter "correct" is TRUE, the function
db_create_record() is called internally to correct a mismatching record.
I have changed most calls of db_create_record() in mhttpd.c, mfe.c, mana.c
and mlogger.c. Pierre, could you do the same for lazylogger.c?
I also started to put assert()'s everywhere and encourage everyone to
follow. Under Windows, the asserts() are removed automatically if
compiling in "Release" mode.
So I committed many changes, did some quick tests, but am not 100%
convinced that all the changes are good. So please use the new code
cautiously, and let me know if there is any new problem. I also would like
to get some feedback if the whole thing becomes more stable now. |