[FIXED] in a 'Python Shell' the 'help' command doesnt work

[Diz]

In version 0.4.1.r1722 when in a 'Python Shell' the 'help', 'credits' and 'license' commands dont work. this is all the output:

PyCrust 0.9.8 - The Flakiest Python Shell
Python 2.6.5 Stackless 3.1b3 060516 (release26-maint, Mar 20 2010, 15:26:51) [MSC v.1500 32 bit (Intel)] on win32
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
help
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<input>", line 1, in <module>
NameError: name 'help' is not defined

[pearbear]

The PyCrust help feature(and license, credits, copyright) is now working in EventGhost 0.5.0-beta5.

[Diz]

yes i know, however, it also crashes for me... like a lot

[pearbear]

That's unfortunate about the crashes. I also find that EventGhost crashes a lot(though this also happened quite often with 0.4.0-r1722), but almost always when I'm working on my tree, rather than when EG is running in the background. I've learned my lesson the hard way many times over to save very frequently. It would be great if we could get this thing more stable but that's beyond my current skill level. If you discover any specific information on the crashing issue please do report it.

[Diz]

i kind of thought there might be a simple fix to this issue as i noticed the pycrust version hadnt changed in the beta

[pearbear]

I had a look through the commits but nothing jumped out at me. Hopefully someone else will chime in with the answer.

[kgschlosser]

the only time I ever get crashes any more with EG is when I am writing scripts and i mess something up in a way that causes the crash, I am curious to know something tho...

I want to run a little experiment.. you see EG by design destroys the whole UI when it is minimized. this was a design implemented a long time ago. during the windows XP days when it was not all that uncommon for a computer to have 54 or 128 megs of ram. this was implemented to save ram. and is not a feature that is needed anymore. but we are trying to figure out if it has any kind of a performance impact. and now I am wondering if it has a stability impact. this could be what causes EG to crash if you are clicking back and forth between things and minimizing EG, IDK i am throwing something out there. it has been a long while since i have done a lot of work in my Tree and I am also running an older version of EG on that computer and have not wanted to upgrade it doe to the simple fact that is just runs.. i am a big fan of "if it ain't broke don't fix it'. but i do remember experiencing crashes. but i do not recall when i was doing when it happened

[kgschlosser]

Oh that's right... i can get ya a copy of EG that doesn't destroy the frame on minimize if you would be willing to use this and see if the stability improves..

and unfortunately the python shell states it right in the name. the flakiest shell and it is temperamental and we did not make this it comes with python wx.

[Diz]

well the thing is i cant really narrow down the cause of the crashing issues because i cant recreate it all the time, so without a repeatable test case i dont think there is much point. sometimes it just stops responding and i have to close it with the task manager and i am pretty sure i have experienced crash this without ever minimizing it so i dont think thats the cause.

also as regards the beta i cant use it because i want to use the xmplay plugin which uses 'import win32ui' and 'import dde' which just doesnt work with the beta even though i have relevent files from pywin and im pretty sure im doing it right because it works in version 0.4.1.r1722.

[pearbear]

this could be what causes EG to crash if you are clicking back and forth between things and minimizing EG

The crashes I experience while working on my tree are definitely not associated with minimizing because I never do that while working on the tree, only switch window focus but the EG window is never minimized while I'm working. I'll keep an eye out for any issues that are associated with minimizing and restoring the EG window.

I am also running an older version of EG on that computer and have not wanted to upgrade it doe to the simple fact that is just runs.. i am a big fan of "if it ain't broke don't fix it'.

I'm running the latest builds on both my computers full time now since you found the six.py solution. It's a bit brave since I do rely on EG working reliably for a lot of things(it's even my alarm clock) but sometimes you have to take some risks to be an effective beta tester.

well the thing is i cant really narrow down the cause of the crashing issues because i cant recreate it all the time, so without a repeatable test case i dont think there is much point. sometimes it just stops responding and i have to close it with the task manager

Same here. If I could find a repeatable way to cause the crash then I would report the issue and I'm sure kgschlosser or topix would find a solution but just saying "it crashes randomly" doesn't give them much to go on.

[kgschlosser]

Now the beta just locks up whenever??. even when not being worked with?
or is it only when you are activity working in EG?

and if only when working with EG. and you have it happen. pay close attention to what you specifically you were doing at that time.

whether it be copying a tree item. or pasting one.. renaming. that sort of thing. write it down. and when you restart EG copy the item you were working with not as python i want the xml code. adding a plugin. removing it. editing the config of it. and if it is specific to a single plugin and it is a plugin included with EventGhost I will need that as well.

it will be something very specific. and I have a funny feeling it has to deal with moving a tree item or copying and pasting something in the tree. I think what may be happening is when you do anything with the tree and Undo record of this is made... I don't ever recall seeing some mechanism to purge old undo records. so after a whole mess of them being done the problem shows up because of the amount of data that has to be sifted through. there is an iteration limit in python. but also there are "not responding" limits as well. where it may appear that the software is caught in a loop but really isn't

I have a version made up that has a much more complex debugging routine. if someone wanted to they could use this version to see what is going on (and it has all the debugging entries removed from the EG log.) so it would look normal as usual..

I am going to take a look see at the code and see if there is in fact something that cleans this undo history. and if not i am going to point the finger there and start poking about...

I do remember having issues when i was working with the tree some 2 years ago with the thing crashing. but i didn't know how to program then and since i have been tied up in the programming end of things i generally have foregone the use of tree items to code. and the 2000+ items i do have i have not changed anything with them in about a year. and i have forgotten this takes place..

I do remember it crashing when i was renaming a lot of items. or moving them about...

[Diz]

well for me its only stopped responding when im actively doing stuff like copy/pasting or renaming or disabling/enabling etc etc... i only discovered this wonderful program a week or so ago so i am still working on all my macros a lot. i dont think its ever just crashed when in the background though.

so, this extra debugging version, is it the 0.4.1.r1722 version or the beta? because like i mentioned the beta is no good for me because i use the xmplay plugin which i cant get to work in the beta.

[kgschlosser]

it's the beta. i will fix the plugin to work with 0.5 for ya.

[Diz]

ok great, thanks, that would be awesome!

[kgschlosser]

try this I do not have playXM so I was unable to test it fully.


but it does now load and it should work.

pywin32's dde module does not function properly. and there has been multiple bug reports about it since 2010 and it has not been fixed. so i doubt it will be as it is a dead way of communicating with other software.

but i managed to find a bit of code i was able to change up to hopefully have it work. it is able to communicate with the dde bits of windows properly. i just don't know about the application end of things

if you are unaware of what an egplugin file is. all you will have to do is to double click on it. and it will do the rest for you

I want to make sure it is functioning before i post it in the xmplay topic

and there is one other change i want to do before i do that so this is just a rough draft