OutOfMemoryException in long running NANT build (AKA StringBuilder is broken)

On my current project we have experienced an interesting problem with our build. There's nothing particularly strange about our setup:

Technology: .NET (C#)

Build: NANT 0.90 + msbuild

Test libs: Nunit & Selenium 2 (webdriver API)

Our build does a fairly usual set of tasks:

- compile projects

- run unit tests

- deploy to IIS

- run integration tests

- run acceptance tests

The project has been running for a long time (4+ years) and so has a large number of tests and a codebase destributed over 30+ Visual Studio Projects. Half way through the current release we encountered a problem where our build would throw an OutOfMemory exception.

After a LOT of investigation we discovered this post which explains exactly what we were seeing. Basically parts of .NET use the StringBuilder for creating and manipulating strings and the problem occurs when the StringBuilder is used with large strings (large = big enough to be put on the Large Object Heap). The best part is that there is no (easy) workaround/fix.

In the end the only way we could get this to work was by splitting our build into two separate builds, we now first run a build that compiles and runs unit tests. Then the second build uses the build artefacts of the first build to run integration and acceptance tests.

Setting JAVA_HOME in OS X

Setting the JAVA_HOME on the Mac has become a lot easier over the years... Apple introduced the GUI version (Java Preferences) which will let you specify the version of JDK to use. However there are still a number of command line tools that expect (or at least work better with) the JAVA_HOME environment variable, and now Apple has provided a way to do this as well with:

export JAVA_HOME=`/usr/libexec/java_home`

The java_home will print to the standard out the location of the users preferred JDK (as set in Java Preferences) so the above command will nicely tie the two things together.

Windows classpath issues

Note to self: If you ever get the following error when you try to execute a clean ant install:

The syntax of the command is incorrect.

This is due to an issue with the CLASSPATH env. variable. The rule is that if the last entry in the classpath finishes with double quotes (") you HAVE TO add a semi-colon after it.

AirPort Extreme Utility 5.0 Install

Apple has a very peculiar strategy with their AirPort Extreme product, they are now allowing you to download software for it, so if you lose or damage your original CD you may find it hard to manage your AirPort Base Unit.

This happened to me as well and I have spent numerous hours trying to find a solution to my problem; in the end I found this blog post that outlines the steps required to allow you to install the AirPort extreme update 5.1 even if you don't have 5.0 already installed.

Just in case the above mentioned blog disappears I'm listing the steps required to achieve this task bellow:

1. Download "AirPort51Update" from the Apple Support website.
2. Extract the exe file with WinRAR, WinZip, etc.
3. Download and install ORCA
4. Load "APSetup.msi" into ORCA
5. Export the the scripts: Tables -> Export Tables -> [x] Binary
6. Load binary/scripts.vbs.idb into your favourite text editor.
7. Replace Session.Property(”AP50ISINSTALLED”) = “” with Session.Property(”AP50ISINSTALLED”) = “1”
8. Put back the scripts: Tables -> Import Tables -> “Binary.idt”
9. Save the file.

You should be able to execute the modified APSetup.msi without any problems now.

In my search I have also stumbled across the Mac version of this post, you can find it here.

Finally I wanted to thank "Guru" for posting this great fix for the very annoying problem.

TDD and BDD

It's been a while since my last post. Here are a few links to interesting blogs/articles around testing, TDD and BDD.

Testing articles:
http://blog.daveastels.com/articles/2005/07/05/a-new-look-at-test-driven-development
http://pezra.barelyenough.org/blog/2007/06/mocking/

BDD documentation:
http://tuples.us/2007/06/12/r-s-p-e-c-4-me/
http://behaviour-driven.org/Introduction

Behaviour frameworks:
http://jbehave.org/
http://dannorth.net/2007/06/introducing-rbehave

FC4: Enabling suspend to RAM

I've found another nice Dell D600 FC setup page here. Among other things it has the instructions for setting up S3 mode (suspend to RAM). You can refer to the original page for the instructions, I'm also including my version of these same instructions here for completeness.

To get Hibernate to work you you'll need log in as root (su -) a create a new file /etc/acpi/events/sleep.conf with the following content:

event=button/sleep *
action=/etc/acpi/actions/sleep.sh

You'll also need to create the file /etc/acpi/actions/sleep.sh with:

#!/bin/tcsh
# Script to drive the system to S3
# suspend-to-ram
#
# JRA Jan 2005

# Step 1: preparing sleep
if (-e /suspending) then
echo "already in the process of suspending. Please be patient."
else
/bin/touch /suspending
/usr/bin/killall -s SIGUSR1 cpuspeed
/usr/bin/chvt 1 # necessary to make DRI work
/sbin/service anacron stop
# USB doesn't suspend without unloading first
/sbin/rmmod ehci_hcd
/sbin/rmmod uhci_hcd
#save the system time
/sbin/hwclock --adjust
/sbin/rmmod wacom # only necessary of you have wacom stylus
/sbin/rmmod -as
/bin/sync

# Step 2: send sleep command via ACPI
echo mem > /sys/power/state

# Step 3: wake-up and reload
/sbin/hwclock --hctosys
/sbin/modprobe ehci_hcd
/sbin/modprobe uhci_hcd
# initialise X
xinit /bin/false -- :1
/usr/bin/chvt 7
/sbin/service anacron start
/sbin/service cpuspeed restart
rm /suspending
endif

Make sure that the file is executable (to do this run chmod 700 /etc/acpi/actions/sleep.sh). Finally you'll need to restart the acpi system: service acpid restart.

Lotus Notes 6.5.4 on Fedora Core 4

I have finally managed to get the Lotus Notes to work under Linux. I'm hoping that the following instructions will help someone solve this problem with less pain and frustration then I had to experience.

The good news is that it is possible to get Notes working under FC4, the bad news is that you need to install it under Windows first and then copy the files across. This was not a problem for me as I'm using a dual boot laptop, but it may be a problem for others.

In hindsight the majority of my problems were with Wine and the fact that there are a number of different recommendations on the web about which version people should use. Basically there are 3 different recommendations:

• to use an old version 20041014 (which in many people's opinion is the most stable)
• to use the most recent RPM for the target platform
• to use the latest stable source release

I've tried all three of these at least once in different combinations and have found that I had best results with the LATEST SOURCE release (currently 20050628).

To install Notes properly:

1. download the source tar file from http://www.winehq.com/site/download.
2. extract it with tar zxvf
3. cd and execute ./tools/wineinstall
4. copy files from Lotus/Notes directory on the Windows partition to ~/.wine/drive_c/Program\ Files/Lotus /Notes
5. Copy over files from "Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/Lotus" on the windows partition to ~/.wine/drive_c/Documents and Settings/All Users/Application Data/Lotus
6. Copy over files from "Documents and Settings//Local Settings/Application Data/Lotus" on the windows partition to ~/.wine/drive_c/Documents and Settings//Local Settings/Application Data/Lotus
7. All the files you've copied will need to be owned by you so if they are currently owned by root go to ~/.wine/drive_c and run chown -R : *
8. Finally copy mfc42.dll and msvcp60.dll from Windows/system32 on the windows partition to ~/.wine/drive_c/windows/system
9. Run Notes by executing: wine "C:\Program Files\Lotus\Notes\nlnotes.exe"

NOTE1: DO NOT follow the install instructions from the wine documentation!!! This will build and install wine properly BUT it will not configure it. It seems that they have changed the procedure so that wineinstall script does everything but have not updated the documentation to reflect this.
NOTE2: You HAVE TO run wineinstall as a standard user (i.e. not root), otherwise wine will be installed but the configuration will be owned by root and you won't be able to use it.
NOTE3: Steps 5 & 6 are optional and only required if you've actually used the Notes installation under Windows and would like to preserve your mail history and other databases.
NOTE4: If the Notes window shows up with the error: "You cannot use the Administration program while the Domino Server is running. Either shut down the Domino Server (but keep the file server running) or choose the icon labeled 'Lotus Notes' instead." This is because of incorrect file permissions on the files you've copied from the Windows partition. To resolve it just go to the 3 locations you've copied files to and execute: chmod -R +rwx *

Let me know if you have any problems,

Vlad

PS. Here are the main articles that helped me debug my installation problems:
Notes 6.5.1 on Linux and Wine
How to Use Lotus Notes on Linux with Wine
wine-bugs mailing list: [Bug 2643] Can't get Lotus Notes 6.5.2 running

As promised Fedora Core 4 setup

I've just upgraded to the latest kernel (2.6.12-1.1398_FC4) and thought I'd use it as a guide for what needs to be done to set up FC4 on a Dell Latitude D600 laptop.

FC4 should install without any problems and should recognize all hardware except for the wireless network card. After the install I strongly recommend that you do the following:

1. Run 'yum update' to get the latest versions of the installed packages. As far as I know the stock standard FC4 install CDs/DVD come with 2.6.12-1.1369_FC4 kernel which is already getting a bit old so you'll probably want to update to the new version.

2. Once the upgrade has been completed you can set up your wireless network card by following the instructions from this link. The simplest thing would be to use the driver that is shipped with the kernel and just install the firmware v2.2. I have personallyhpersonallyole decided to go with the full install approach and have installed firmware v2.3 and driver v1.04. As I am writing this I have just noticed that a new version of the driver (v1.06) is available and I might try that later on tonight.

3. If you've followed the instructions from the website and have rebooted at the end of the install you should have a working wireless connection except if you are running a network that uses WPA for security (as is the case with me). To get the WPA authentication to work you'll need to install the wpa_supplicant. Either Google for a recent FC3/4 RPM or download the source and compile it. Personally I had problems compiling it on FC4 so I opted for a slightly older version for which I was able to find an RPM. Once you install it all you will need to do is configure it ,edit /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf, and set it up to run at startup:

echo wpa_supplicant -ieth1 -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -wB >> /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifup-wireless
echo killall wpa_supplicant > /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifdown-wireless
chmod +x /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifdown-wireless

Fedora Core 4

As most of you already know FC4 was released on Monday (actually Tuesday early morning Brisbane time). I have made the decision to switch to (primarily) using Linux on my laptop so to that end I was eagerly awaiting this release.

As I've promised to a number of people, over the next few days I will blogg the steps I'm taking to setup my Dell D600 laptop with the new OS.

Watch this space.

Vlad

"Join the army they say, see the world they say"

Over the last 8 - 10 years I have been a constant Windows user. During this time I made a number of half-hearted attempts to switch or Linux but every time I would hit a road block and would retreat back to the comfort of Windows.

You won't believe how much slack I've been getting specially in the last two and a half years from a number of my peers and work colleagues (aka. Linux weenies) who have been trying to persuade me to switch to the “light side”.

Anyway recently I've made a decision to give Linux another try, but this time I've decided to make the effort of getting the thing fully working and using it for some time (at least a few weeks) before deciding on which platform is better suited for my needs. So last weekend I installed Fedora Core 3 on my laptop and then spent the whole of Sunday (from 6:30 am to 11:30 pm) updating it and getting the wireless to work. I have to admit that I thought that wireless stuff will be hard but I had no idea that it would be THAT hard. Even on a “primitive” OS, like Windows XP, wireless pretty much works out of the box, so I wasn't expecting to have to spend more then 12 hours to get it to work on FC3.

The pain I've suffered has made me even more determined to persevere in my attempt to get the environment fully set up, but it has also made me realise that the documentation on this subject is scarse, out of date, misleading and sometimes just plain wrong. My next blog entry will contain a full how-to for setting up Intel PRO 2200BG based wireless with WPA encryption.

Vlad