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Re: [Wlug] Musing about meetings...

by Chuck Anderson

Hello everyone, I'm not dead yet, but I have been remiss in my duties. For that I apologize. As Tim says, we've all become too busy, me especially since joining/increasing responsibilities in two other organizations in the past year. I've mentioned this before, but I think I should formalize the current expectations for meetings: For the forseeable future, the WLUG meetings are always on the 2nd Thursday of every month, whether I forget to announce it or not, whether I can make it to the meeting or not, and whether there is a topic or speaker scheduled or not. If there isn't a specific speaker/topic decided in advance, the meetings are open forums for discussion and support. Until we get an automated reminder system going, here is the remaining schedule until June next year. Feel free to put these on your calendar now and set calendar event reminders (or simply create a recurring meeting for every 2nd Thursday). I'll post this to the website as well. Thu Oct 9 2014 7:00PM-9:00PM Campus Center Mid-Century Room Thu Nov 13 2014 7:00PM-9:00PM Campus Center Mid-Century Room Thu Dec 11 2014 7:00PM-9:00PM Campus Center Mid-Century Room Thu Jan 8 2015 7:00PM-9:00PM Campus Center Mid-Century Room Thu Feb 12 2015 7:00PM-9:00PM Campus Center Mid-Century Room Thu Mar 12 2015 7:00PM-9:00PM Campus Center Mid-Century Room Thu Apr 9 2015 7:00PM-9:00PM Campus Center Mid-Century Room Thu May 14 2015 7:00PM-9:00PM no room yet Thu Jun 11 2015 7:00PM-9:00PM no room yet We can discuss changing days, but I don't think the problem is the choice of day. There is always going to be a day that some people can never make, always make, or sometimes make. For myself personally, I cannot do Wednesdays except maybe in July and August. I'll also point out other local groups' schedules so we can avoid conflicts if possible (and for those looking for other groups!): Chelmsford Linux Meetup, www.meetup.com/linux-393, 1st Thursdays Worcester Linux Users Group (WLUG), wlug.org, 2nd Thursdays Back Bay Lisa (BBLISA), bblisa.org, 2nd Wednesdays Boston Linux/Unix (BLU), blu.org, 3rd Wednesdays (and other events on other days) FOSS User Group in Natick, Massachusetts, http://natickfoss.org, 3-6PM on the 1st Thursday of most months (but 2nd Thursday in January, July and September) Greater New Hampshire LUG (GNHLUG), http://wiki.gnhlug.org/twiki2/bin/view/Www/OurChapters DLSLUG 1st Thursday Carson Hall, Dartmouth College, Hanover SLUG 2nd Monday Morse Hall, UNH, Durham MonadLUG 2nd Monday SAU 1 offices, Peterborough ManchLUG 4th Tuesday Wings Your Way, Manchester PySIG 4th Thursday Amoskeag Business Incubator, Manchester MerriLUG 1st Tuesday MakeIt? Labs, Nashua (not sure of the current status of these chapters) Linux Rhode Island, linuxri.org, http://www.linuxri.org/, 2nd Saturdays Greater Hartford Linux User Group (GHGLUG), http://www.meetup.com/GHGLUG/, 4th Wednesdays Finally, another concern I'm sure people have is "Will there be anyone at the meetings if I drive all the way there?" To address this, we could all be more diligent about emailing the list when we plan to attend, or we could move to a more social website oriented system, like Meetup.com, where people can "join" each month and say they are going to be there. As you can see, several of the local groups already use meetup.com. Meetup.com does cost money for the group organizer (it is free for everyone else who joins a group), but we have some money in the bank to get us started. We'd just have to take up a collection every month to keep it going. Pricing is cheap, $24/year: http://help.meetup.com/customer/portal/articles/465027-organizer-dues-price… Sadly, I'm probably not going to make it today's meeting either. On Wed, Oct 08, 2014 at 08:28:35PM -0400, Tim Keller wrote: > Okay Gang, > > In the 10+ years that this group has been in existence many of us have > gotten married, had a couple of kids, etc. This means that planning for a > WLUG meeting needs to happen in a much more scheduled manner. Sending out > a meeting reminder the day before a meeting just doesn't cut it anymore. > I've spoken with Chuck and things are going to be changing. > > However, before we do anything, I think it makes sense to ask some > questions. > > Does the first Wednesday of every month work for everybody? > > Would going back to the Wed/Thurs alternating schedule work better for > people? > > What I'd like to implement is an automated meeting system that'll > automatically send a reminder at the beginning of the month and then a > subsequent reminder the day or two before. > > I'd love input on this. > > Thanks, > Tim.

Oct. 9, 2014

Re: [Wlug] Musing about meetings...

by Robert Schwein

Wed is tight but doable. I have an every-Wed. 4 pm meeting building the new FM radio station over here in Athol. Thursdays are clear. I can make either arrangement. Bob On 10/8/2014 8:28 PM, Tim Keller wrote: > Okay Gang, > > In the 10+ years that this group has been in existence many of us have > gotten married, had a couple of kids, etc. This means that planning > for a WLUG meeting needs to happen in a much more scheduled manner. > Sending out a meeting reminder the day before a meeting just doesn't > cut it anymore. I've spoken with Chuck and things are going to be > changing. > > However, before we do anything, I think it makes sense to ask some > questions. > > Does the first Wednesday of every month work for everybody? > > Would going back to the Wed/Thurs alternating schedule work better for > people? > > What I'd like to implement is an automated meeting system that'll > automatically send a reminder at the beginning of the month and then a > subsequent reminder the day or two before. > > I'd love input on this. > > Thanks, > Tim. > > -- > I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their > constituents as "consumers". > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug

Oct. 9, 2014

Musing about meetings...

by Tim Keller

Okay Gang, In the 10+ years that this group has been in existence many of us have gotten married, had a couple of kids, etc. This means that planning for a WLUG meeting needs to happen in a much more scheduled manner. Sending out a meeting reminder the day before a meeting just doesn't cut it anymore. I've spoken with Chuck and things are going to be changing. However, before we do anything, I think it makes sense to ask some questions. Does the first Wednesday of every month work for everybody? Would going back to the Wed/Thurs alternating schedule work better for people? What I'd like to implement is an automated meeting system that'll automatically send a reminder at the beginning of the month and then a subsequent reminder the day or two before. I'd love input on this. Thanks, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

Oct. 9, 2014

Re: [Wlug] The "broken" text file (was: I guess this is goodbye... )

by E Johnson

Thank you, Michael. I had one of these progs or maybe both, in a previous hard drive. Gramps and Lifelines output nice records of various kinds. Although a gedcom is not what this corrupted text file is, exactly. It has the same format, but a gedcom pertains only to that set of individuals who is somehow related to the person at the head of the gedcom. My database has many family groups who are entirely unrelated to any specific single individual. I could produce a gedcom from this file (have, etc), but this requires selecting an individual who is the starting point for either descendants of the person, or ancestors of them. But since I think I know the surname of the family I was working on at the time of the fryolation, maybe I can get the prog to make a gedcom from them. If so, this sounds like it might work. I'll check and see if one or the other of these progs includes a file-validator. Thank you for the idea. Liz On 8 October 2014 19:44, Michael C Voorhis <mvoorhis(a)cs.wpi.edu> wrote: > E Johnson writes: > > So now I think I need some way of seeing the text in this file, so > > that I can find where the glitched-up text is, that is hanging up > > the whole operation. > > Google searches for "gedcom file validator" or "gedcom file checker" > both produce useful (and free) results, but the results appear for the > most part to be Windows programs. > > If you want a linux/foss-ish program, you can look at these: > > http://gramps-project.org/ > http://lifelines.sourceforge.net/ > http://genj.sourceforge.net/ > > They all work with gedcom files I believe. One of them might perhaps > include a file-validator which would tell you more about the > corruption in your gedcom file. > > --MCV.

Oct. 9, 2014

Re: [Wlug] The "broken" text file (was: I guess this is goodbye... )

by E Johnson

John, You had to read the whole file manually, or that is, had to look at every line until you spotted the corrupted part? I don't mind (it can't be any harder than reading a whole Harry Potter book or something), but just wondering what I might be getting into by this method. Most of the entries in this file are very short (20 characters at most), except for some notes under certain individuals, which contain census records and/or one or more paragraphs of text. I know the notes are okay, but still. 115,000+ individuals here. Reading the file manually might be the quickest way though. So did you just read every line of your glitched up file? Thanks, Liz On 8 October 2014 19:33, John Platt <jplatt39(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Um. I do things my own way but I seem to remember I once found an > especially nasty piece of corruption doing string <filename.txt> and piping > the output through less. Strings has a man page and it's in the info > binutils section if you want to look at the documentation. > > On Wed, Oct 8, 2014 at 6:51 PM, E Johnson <iris.gates(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Okay. Here's what happened. >> >> I transferred the text file "bases" by sftp to my spare computer here. >> It's a 20 MB text file, with a weird file exptension .gw, that IS a text >> file (file manager says so) and that my program (Geneweb) understands. This >> file transfer took under 2 seconds for the 20 MB. No complaints. >> >> I tried opening it... Abiword would do that --it tried --but at 85% >> completed "building" the file (which Abiword said it was doing), and since >> it didn't seem to be getting past that 85% and by then, both cores of the >> processor in that computer were up to about 83 degrees and the mobo was >> also getting hot. So I aborted Abiword, assuming that it might be getting >> stuck wherever the first (only??) glich is. BTW I think this glitch >> happened when the landlady's handman was up here in the kitchen fixing the >> string-pull on a light in the kitchen without turning off the power, and >> shorted the hot wire to the negative. I ended up having to buy a new router >> AND modem because of that. >> >> Anyway, I also assume that command line functions such as cp will be >> equally easy to make happen. >> >> So now I think I need some way of seeing the text in this file, so that I >> can find where the glitched-up text is, that is hanging up the whole >> operation. Somehow or other, I still need a way to see the text, and/or to >> write some script that can find the glitches in it. I know the name of one >> of the families I was working on at the time, and know that that surname >> DOES hang and not present all of its descendants, so I could start there. >> >> Thanks in advance for the help. >> >> Liz J >> >> >> On 8 October 2014 14:20, E Johnson <iris.gates(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Tim, >>> >>> I'll try the cp; don't remember if I tried that or not. Will take a >>> little while. I'm going to ssh in from the other box, so I can leave this >>> one less-occupied while I attempt it. Will report back. >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Liz >>> >>> On 8 October 2014 14:08, Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> What do you mean you can't copy the original file? if you do a "cp >>>> file1 file2" do you get an error? >>>> >>>> Barring that, doing a quick search of gedcom parsers in python shows >>>> there's a whole pile of them. Without too much trouble we could likely put >>>> together a program that would take this original file and at least validate >>>> it if not go thorough it to the point where the parser barfs and say >>>> "Record X" is the problem. >>>> >>>> On Wed, Oct 8, 2014 at 1:28 PM, E Johnson <iris.gates(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Thanks, Keith. >>>>> >>>>> The program doesn't crash at all, and I don't think it is broken. It >>>>> just can't do certain things that it used to do. This program is called >>>>> Geneweb, and it's free, GNU, open-source, etc. >>>>> http://opensource.geneanet.org/projects/geneweb. I am running version >>>>> 5.01 which is not the latest, but I'm keeping it because in versions >>>>> starting from 6, they changed something, and a mod that I installed (that I >>>>> didn't write) that allows a display of three generations before and after >>>>> the individual won't work any more. >>>>> >>>>> The data in the text file (called the base), containing various types >>>>> of information about the individual, also contains some numbers and so >>>>> forth, linking that person to his/her parents, children, spouse, etc. The >>>>> program will access this file display an individual and parents, children, >>>>> etc, if known in a web page that is nicely formatted; that's fine. What >>>>> happens since May 2012 is that from the top page there is a choice of >>>>> displaying all surnames (alphabetical), or a box in which one can input a >>>>> surname, which then will result in a display of all persons with that name. >>>>> That won't work now, and neither will the all-surnames display work. One >>>>> can also choose to display persons sorted on title or estate, which also >>>>> doesn't work. >>>>> >>>>> The problem really is in the text file (the base). I have several >>>>> different databases here, and the others, one of which contains 50,000 >>>>> individuals, perform perfectly. But in my big database, it hangs, seeming >>>>> to get lost, when asked to display surnames or estates. >>>>> >>>>> The data in the text file is supposed to look like this, more or less: >>>>> >>>>> 0 @I1@ INDI >>>>> 1 NAME Bob /Cox/ >>>>> 1 SEX M >>>>> 1 FAMS @F1@ >>>>> 1 CHAN >>>>> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >>>>> 0 @I2@ INDI >>>>> 1 NAME Joann /Para/ >>>>> 1 SEX F >>>>> 1 FAMS @F1@ >>>>> 1 CHAN >>>>> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >>>>> 0 @I3@ INDI >>>>> 1 NAME Bobby Jo /Cox/ >>>>> 1 SEX M >>>>> 1 FAMC @F1@ >>>>> 1 CHAN >>>>> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >>>>> 0 @F1@ FAM >>>>> 1 HUSB @I1@ >>>>> 1 WIFE @I2@ >>>>> 1 MARR >>>>> 1 CHIL @I3@ >>>>> 0 TRLR >>>>> >>>>> I also can't create a backup or copy to anywhere, which is crucial, >>>>> and I can't move the base file, either to another location on the hard >>>>> drive or to another device. I also can't get it to re-sort, which would be >>>>> nice, because that cleans up "ghosts" or leftover info on individuals that >>>>> don't "exist" any more because they have been merged with another one who >>>>> turned out to be the same person. This problem first cropped up when I had >>>>> either 86,000 individuals or 82,000 individuals, 2 1/2 years ago. >>>>> >>>>> If I ever use the wrong terminology, I aploogize, but I'm not an IT >>>>> specialist. I am a Linux User located in Worcester. Last time I wrote a >>>>> program, it was in Basic. I should have said, I guess, is that there must >>>>> be some bad characters in this text file "base", which makes it impossible >>>>> for the program that uses it to perform certain functions, such as Sort, or >>>>> to display certain data, such as all persons of the surname {Whatever}. >>>>> >>>>> Liz >>>>> >>>>> I didn't know what could be meant by "broken text file", now I see >>>>> that you mean "broken file processing program". Do you have >>>>> the source for the geneology program? If not, insert rant here. >>>>> >>>>> Does the program crash as soon as you import the file, or >>>>> only when you do something particular? My first impulse >>>>> would be to put printf commands into the input procedure. >>>>> >>>>> Do you have a spec for what the data is supposed to look like, >>>>> or is this one of those take-the-money-and-(run|hide| >>>>> sell updates) >>>>> >>>>> programs, whose authors think that's super double secret eye pee? >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> > The text file has been broken since May 2012. This is a genealogical >>>>> > database, that runs in a program that accesses the file, which >>>>> consists of >>>>> > names, dates, places, etc, plus notes. I think the bogus character >>>>> might be >>>>> > an at sign @ but if so, it won't help to search for it, because >>>>> GEDCOMS >>>>> > contain several @ for each individual. My database contains 115,000 >>>>> > individuals. I think I know what family (surname) I was working on >>>>> when it >>>>> > broke, though, and it still hangs there. I guess I could grep the >>>>> file for >>>>> > that surname and get it to output a couple of lines after it finds >>>>> each >>>>> > instance. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Wlug mailing list >>>>> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >>>>> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their >>>> constituents as "consumers". >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Wlug mailing list >>>> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >>>> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >>>> >>>> >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wlug mailing list >> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > >

Oct. 8, 2014

Re: [Wlug] The "broken" text file (was: I guess this is goodbye... )

by Michael C Voorhis

E Johnson writes: > So now I think I need some way of seeing the text in this file, so > that I can find where the glitched-up text is, that is hanging up > the whole operation. Google searches for "gedcom file validator" or "gedcom file checker" both produce useful (and free) results, but the results appear for the most part to be Windows programs. If you want a linux/foss-ish program, you can look at these: http://gramps-project.org/ http://lifelines.sourceforge.net/ http://genj.sourceforge.net/ They all work with gedcom files I believe. One of them might perhaps include a file-validator which would tell you more about the corruption in your gedcom file. --MCV.

Oct. 8, 2014

Re: [Wlug] The "broken" text file (was: I guess this is goodbye... )

by John Platt

Um. I do things my own way but I seem to remember I once found an especially nasty piece of corruption doing string <filename.txt> and piping the output through less. Strings has a man page and it's in the info binutils section if you want to look at the documentation. On Wed, Oct 8, 2014 at 6:51 PM, E Johnson <iris.gates(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Okay. Here's what happened. > > I transferred the text file "bases" by sftp to my spare computer here. > It's a 20 MB text file, with a weird file exptension .gw, that IS a text > file (file manager says so) and that my program (Geneweb) understands. This > file transfer took under 2 seconds for the 20 MB. No complaints. > > I tried opening it... Abiword would do that --it tried --but at 85% > completed "building" the file (which Abiword said it was doing), and since > it didn't seem to be getting past that 85% and by then, both cores of the > processor in that computer were up to about 83 degrees and the mobo was > also getting hot. So I aborted Abiword, assuming that it might be getting > stuck wherever the first (only??) glich is. BTW I think this glitch > happened when the landlady's handman was up here in the kitchen fixing the > string-pull on a light in the kitchen without turning off the power, and > shorted the hot wire to the negative. I ended up having to buy a new router > AND modem because of that. > > Anyway, I also assume that command line functions such as cp will be > equally easy to make happen. > > So now I think I need some way of seeing the text in this file, so that I > can find where the glitched-up text is, that is hanging up the whole > operation. Somehow or other, I still need a way to see the text, and/or to > write some script that can find the glitches in it. I know the name of one > of the families I was working on at the time, and know that that surname > DOES hang and not present all of its descendants, so I could start there. > > Thanks in advance for the help. > > Liz J > > > On 8 October 2014 14:20, E Johnson <iris.gates(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Tim, >> >> I'll try the cp; don't remember if I tried that or not. Will take a >> little while. I'm going to ssh in from the other box, so I can leave this >> one less-occupied while I attempt it. Will report back. >> >> Thanks, >> Liz >> >> On 8 October 2014 14:08, Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> What do you mean you can't copy the original file? if you do a "cp >>> file1 file2" do you get an error? >>> >>> Barring that, doing a quick search of gedcom parsers in python shows >>> there's a whole pile of them. Without too much trouble we could likely put >>> together a program that would take this original file and at least validate >>> it if not go thorough it to the point where the parser barfs and say >>> "Record X" is the problem. >>> >>> On Wed, Oct 8, 2014 at 1:28 PM, E Johnson <iris.gates(a)gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>>> Thanks, Keith. >>>> >>>> The program doesn't crash at all, and I don't think it is broken. It >>>> just can't do certain things that it used to do. This program is called >>>> Geneweb, and it's free, GNU, open-source, etc. >>>> http://opensource.geneanet.org/projects/geneweb. I am running version >>>> 5.01 which is not the latest, but I'm keeping it because in versions >>>> starting from 6, they changed something, and a mod that I installed (that I >>>> didn't write) that allows a display of three generations before and after >>>> the individual won't work any more. >>>> >>>> The data in the text file (called the base), containing various types >>>> of information about the individual, also contains some numbers and so >>>> forth, linking that person to his/her parents, children, spouse, etc. The >>>> program will access this file display an individual and parents, children, >>>> etc, if known in a web page that is nicely formatted; that's fine. What >>>> happens since May 2012 is that from the top page there is a choice of >>>> displaying all surnames (alphabetical), or a box in which one can input a >>>> surname, which then will result in a display of all persons with that name. >>>> That won't work now, and neither will the all-surnames display work. One >>>> can also choose to display persons sorted on title or estate, which also >>>> doesn't work. >>>> >>>> The problem really is in the text file (the base). I have several >>>> different databases here, and the others, one of which contains 50,000 >>>> individuals, perform perfectly. But in my big database, it hangs, seeming >>>> to get lost, when asked to display surnames or estates. >>>> >>>> The data in the text file is supposed to look like this, more or less: >>>> >>>> 0 @I1@ INDI >>>> 1 NAME Bob /Cox/ >>>> 1 SEX M >>>> 1 FAMS @F1@ >>>> 1 CHAN >>>> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >>>> 0 @I2@ INDI >>>> 1 NAME Joann /Para/ >>>> 1 SEX F >>>> 1 FAMS @F1@ >>>> 1 CHAN >>>> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >>>> 0 @I3@ INDI >>>> 1 NAME Bobby Jo /Cox/ >>>> 1 SEX M >>>> 1 FAMC @F1@ >>>> 1 CHAN >>>> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >>>> 0 @F1@ FAM >>>> 1 HUSB @I1@ >>>> 1 WIFE @I2@ >>>> 1 MARR >>>> 1 CHIL @I3@ >>>> 0 TRLR >>>> >>>> I also can't create a backup or copy to anywhere, which is crucial, and >>>> I can't move the base file, either to another location on the hard drive or >>>> to another device. I also can't get it to re-sort, which would be nice, >>>> because that cleans up "ghosts" or leftover info on individuals that don't >>>> "exist" any more because they have been merged with another one who turned >>>> out to be the same person. This problem first cropped up when I had either >>>> 86,000 individuals or 82,000 individuals, 2 1/2 years ago. >>>> >>>> If I ever use the wrong terminology, I aploogize, but I'm not an IT >>>> specialist. I am a Linux User located in Worcester. Last time I wrote a >>>> program, it was in Basic. I should have said, I guess, is that there must >>>> be some bad characters in this text file "base", which makes it impossible >>>> for the program that uses it to perform certain functions, such as Sort, or >>>> to display certain data, such as all persons of the surname {Whatever}. >>>> >>>> Liz >>>> >>>> I didn't know what could be meant by "broken text file", now I see >>>> that you mean "broken file processing program". Do you have >>>> the source for the geneology program? If not, insert rant here. >>>> >>>> Does the program crash as soon as you import the file, or >>>> only when you do something particular? My first impulse >>>> would be to put printf commands into the input procedure. >>>> >>>> Do you have a spec for what the data is supposed to look like, >>>> or is this one of those take-the-money-and-(run|hide| >>>> sell updates) >>>> >>>> programs, whose authors think that's super double secret eye pee? >>>> >>>> >>>> > The text file has been broken since May 2012. This is a genealogical >>>> > database, that runs in a program that accesses the file, which >>>> consists of >>>> > names, dates, places, etc, plus notes. I think the bogus character >>>> might be >>>> > an at sign @ but if so, it won't help to search for it, because >>>> GEDCOMS >>>> > contain several @ for each individual. My database contains 115,000 >>>> > individuals. I think I know what family (surname) I was working on >>>> when it >>>> > broke, though, and it still hangs there. I guess I could grep the >>>> file for >>>> > that surname and get it to output a couple of lines after it finds >>>> each >>>> > instance. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Wlug mailing list >>>> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >>>> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their >>> constituents as "consumers". >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wlug mailing list >>> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >>> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >>> >>> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > >

Oct. 8, 2014

Re: [Wlug] The "broken" text file (was: I guess this is goodbye... )

by E Johnson

Okay. Here's what happened. I transferred the text file "bases" by sftp to my spare computer here. It's a 20 MB text file, with a weird file exptension .gw, that IS a text file (file manager says so) and that my program (Geneweb) understands. This file transfer took under 2 seconds for the 20 MB. No complaints. I tried opening it... Abiword would do that --it tried --but at 85% completed "building" the file (which Abiword said it was doing), and since it didn't seem to be getting past that 85% and by then, both cores of the processor in that computer were up to about 83 degrees and the mobo was also getting hot. So I aborted Abiword, assuming that it might be getting stuck wherever the first (only??) glich is. BTW I think this glitch happened when the landlady's handman was up here in the kitchen fixing the string-pull on a light in the kitchen without turning off the power, and shorted the hot wire to the negative. I ended up having to buy a new router AND modem because of that. Anyway, I also assume that command line functions such as cp will be equally easy to make happen. So now I think I need some way of seeing the text in this file, so that I can find where the glitched-up text is, that is hanging up the whole operation. Somehow or other, I still need a way to see the text, and/or to write some script that can find the glitches in it. I know the name of one of the families I was working on at the time, and know that that surname DOES hang and not present all of its descendants, so I could start there. Thanks in advance for the help. Liz J On 8 October 2014 14:20, E Johnson <iris.gates(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Tim, > > I'll try the cp; don't remember if I tried that or not. Will take a little > while. I'm going to ssh in from the other box, so I can leave this one > less-occupied while I attempt it. Will report back. > > Thanks, > Liz > > On 8 October 2014 14:08, Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> What do you mean you can't copy the original file? if you do a "cp file1 >> file2" do you get an error? >> >> Barring that, doing a quick search of gedcom parsers in python shows >> there's a whole pile of them. Without too much trouble we could likely put >> together a program that would take this original file and at least validate >> it if not go thorough it to the point where the parser barfs and say >> "Record X" is the problem. >> >> On Wed, Oct 8, 2014 at 1:28 PM, E Johnson <iris.gates(a)gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Thanks, Keith. >>> >>> The program doesn't crash at all, and I don't think it is broken. It >>> just can't do certain things that it used to do. This program is called >>> Geneweb, and it's free, GNU, open-source, etc. >>> http://opensource.geneanet.org/projects/geneweb. I am running version >>> 5.01 which is not the latest, but I'm keeping it because in versions >>> starting from 6, they changed something, and a mod that I installed (that I >>> didn't write) that allows a display of three generations before and after >>> the individual won't work any more. >>> >>> The data in the text file (called the base), containing various types of >>> information about the individual, also contains some numbers and so forth, >>> linking that person to his/her parents, children, spouse, etc. The program >>> will access this file display an individual and parents, children, etc, if >>> known in a web page that is nicely formatted; that's fine. What happens >>> since May 2012 is that from the top page there is a choice of displaying >>> all surnames (alphabetical), or a box in which one can input a surname, >>> which then will result in a display of all persons with that name. That >>> won't work now, and neither will the all-surnames display work. One can >>> also choose to display persons sorted on title or estate, which also >>> doesn't work. >>> >>> The problem really is in the text file (the base). I have several >>> different databases here, and the others, one of which contains 50,000 >>> individuals, perform perfectly. But in my big database, it hangs, seeming >>> to get lost, when asked to display surnames or estates. >>> >>> The data in the text file is supposed to look like this, more or less: >>> >>> 0 @I1@ INDI >>> 1 NAME Bob /Cox/ >>> 1 SEX M >>> 1 FAMS @F1@ >>> 1 CHAN >>> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >>> 0 @I2@ INDI >>> 1 NAME Joann /Para/ >>> 1 SEX F >>> 1 FAMS @F1@ >>> 1 CHAN >>> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >>> 0 @I3@ INDI >>> 1 NAME Bobby Jo /Cox/ >>> 1 SEX M >>> 1 FAMC @F1@ >>> 1 CHAN >>> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >>> 0 @F1@ FAM >>> 1 HUSB @I1@ >>> 1 WIFE @I2@ >>> 1 MARR >>> 1 CHIL @I3@ >>> 0 TRLR >>> >>> I also can't create a backup or copy to anywhere, which is crucial, and >>> I can't move the base file, either to another location on the hard drive or >>> to another device. I also can't get it to re-sort, which would be nice, >>> because that cleans up "ghosts" or leftover info on individuals that don't >>> "exist" any more because they have been merged with another one who turned >>> out to be the same person. This problem first cropped up when I had either >>> 86,000 individuals or 82,000 individuals, 2 1/2 years ago. >>> >>> If I ever use the wrong terminology, I aploogize, but I'm not an IT >>> specialist. I am a Linux User located in Worcester. Last time I wrote a >>> program, it was in Basic. I should have said, I guess, is that there must >>> be some bad characters in this text file "base", which makes it impossible >>> for the program that uses it to perform certain functions, such as Sort, or >>> to display certain data, such as all persons of the surname {Whatever}. >>> >>> Liz >>> >>> I didn't know what could be meant by "broken text file", now I see >>> that you mean "broken file processing program". Do you have >>> the source for the geneology program? If not, insert rant here. >>> >>> Does the program crash as soon as you import the file, or >>> only when you do something particular? My first impulse >>> would be to put printf commands into the input procedure. >>> >>> Do you have a spec for what the data is supposed to look like, >>> or is this one of those take-the-money-and-(run|hide| >>> sell updates) >>> >>> programs, whose authors think that's super double secret eye pee? >>> >>> >>> > The text file has been broken since May 2012. This is a genealogical >>> > database, that runs in a program that accesses the file, which >>> consists of >>> > names, dates, places, etc, plus notes. I think the bogus character >>> might be >>> > an at sign @ but if so, it won't help to search for it, because GEDCOMS >>> > contain several @ for each individual. My database contains 115,000 >>> > individuals. I think I know what family (surname) I was working on >>> when it >>> > broke, though, and it still hangs there. I guess I could grep the file >>> for >>> > that surname and get it to output a couple of lines after it finds each >>> > instance. >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Wlug mailing list >>> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >>> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their >> constituents as "consumers". >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wlug mailing list >> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >> >> >

Oct. 8, 2014

Re: [Wlug] The "broken" text file (was: I guess this is goodbye... )

by E Johnson

Tim, I'll try the cp; don't remember if I tried that or not. Will take a little while. I'm going to ssh in from the other box, so I can leave this one less-occupied while I attempt it. Will report back. Thanks, Liz On 8 October 2014 14:08, Tim Keller <turbofx(a)gmail.com> wrote: > What do you mean you can't copy the original file? if you do a "cp file1 > file2" do you get an error? > > Barring that, doing a quick search of gedcom parsers in python shows > there's a whole pile of them. Without too much trouble we could likely put > together a program that would take this original file and at least validate > it if not go thorough it to the point where the parser barfs and say > "Record X" is the problem. > > On Wed, Oct 8, 2014 at 1:28 PM, E Johnson <iris.gates(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> Thanks, Keith. >> >> The program doesn't crash at all, and I don't think it is broken. It just >> can't do certain things that it used to do. This program is called Geneweb, >> and it's free, GNU, open-source, etc. >> http://opensource.geneanet.org/projects/geneweb. I am running version >> 5.01 which is not the latest, but I'm keeping it because in versions >> starting from 6, they changed something, and a mod that I installed (that I >> didn't write) that allows a display of three generations before and after >> the individual won't work any more. >> >> The data in the text file (called the base), containing various types of >> information about the individual, also contains some numbers and so forth, >> linking that person to his/her parents, children, spouse, etc. The program >> will access this file display an individual and parents, children, etc, if >> known in a web page that is nicely formatted; that's fine. What happens >> since May 2012 is that from the top page there is a choice of displaying >> all surnames (alphabetical), or a box in which one can input a surname, >> which then will result in a display of all persons with that name. That >> won't work now, and neither will the all-surnames display work. One can >> also choose to display persons sorted on title or estate, which also >> doesn't work. >> >> The problem really is in the text file (the base). I have several >> different databases here, and the others, one of which contains 50,000 >> individuals, perform perfectly. But in my big database, it hangs, seeming >> to get lost, when asked to display surnames or estates. >> >> The data in the text file is supposed to look like this, more or less: >> >> 0 @I1@ INDI >> 1 NAME Bob /Cox/ >> 1 SEX M >> 1 FAMS @F1@ >> 1 CHAN >> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >> 0 @I2@ INDI >> 1 NAME Joann /Para/ >> 1 SEX F >> 1 FAMS @F1@ >> 1 CHAN >> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >> 0 @I3@ INDI >> 1 NAME Bobby Jo /Cox/ >> 1 SEX M >> 1 FAMC @F1@ >> 1 CHAN >> 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 >> 0 @F1@ FAM >> 1 HUSB @I1@ >> 1 WIFE @I2@ >> 1 MARR >> 1 CHIL @I3@ >> 0 TRLR >> >> I also can't create a backup or copy to anywhere, which is crucial, and I >> can't move the base file, either to another location on the hard drive or >> to another device. I also can't get it to re-sort, which would be nice, >> because that cleans up "ghosts" or leftover info on individuals that don't >> "exist" any more because they have been merged with another one who turned >> out to be the same person. This problem first cropped up when I had either >> 86,000 individuals or 82,000 individuals, 2 1/2 years ago. >> >> If I ever use the wrong terminology, I aploogize, but I'm not an IT >> specialist. I am a Linux User located in Worcester. Last time I wrote a >> program, it was in Basic. I should have said, I guess, is that there must >> be some bad characters in this text file "base", which makes it impossible >> for the program that uses it to perform certain functions, such as Sort, or >> to display certain data, such as all persons of the surname {Whatever}. >> >> Liz >> >> I didn't know what could be meant by "broken text file", now I see >> that you mean "broken file processing program". Do you have >> the source for the geneology program? If not, insert rant here. >> >> Does the program crash as soon as you import the file, or >> only when you do something particular? My first impulse >> would be to put printf commands into the input procedure. >> >> Do you have a spec for what the data is supposed to look like, >> or is this one of those take-the-money-and-(run|hide| >> sell updates) >> >> programs, whose authors think that's super double secret eye pee? >> >> >> > The text file has been broken since May 2012. This is a genealogical >> > database, that runs in a program that accesses the file, which consists >> of >> > names, dates, places, etc, plus notes. I think the bogus character >> might be >> > an at sign @ but if so, it won't help to search for it, because GEDCOMS >> > contain several @ for each individual. My database contains 115,000 >> > individuals. I think I know what family (surname) I was working on when >> it >> > broke, though, and it still hangs there. I guess I could grep the file >> for >> > that surname and get it to output a couple of lines after it finds each >> > instance. >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wlug mailing list >> Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org >> http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug >> >> > > > -- > I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their > constituents as "consumers". > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > >

Oct. 8, 2014

Re: [Wlug] The "broken" text file (was: I guess this is goodbye... )

by Tim Keller

What do you mean you can't copy the original file? if you do a "cp file1 file2" do you get an error? Barring that, doing a quick search of gedcom parsers in python shows there's a whole pile of them. Without too much trouble we could likely put together a program that would take this original file and at least validate it if not go thorough it to the point where the parser barfs and say "Record X" is the problem. On Wed, Oct 8, 2014 at 1:28 PM, E Johnson <iris.gates(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Thanks, Keith. > > The program doesn't crash at all, and I don't think it is broken. It just > can't do certain things that it used to do. This program is called Geneweb, > and it's free, GNU, open-source, etc. > http://opensource.geneanet.org/projects/geneweb. I am running version > 5.01 which is not the latest, but I'm keeping it because in versions > starting from 6, they changed something, and a mod that I installed (that I > didn't write) that allows a display of three generations before and after > the individual won't work any more. > > The data in the text file (called the base), containing various types of > information about the individual, also contains some numbers and so forth, > linking that person to his/her parents, children, spouse, etc. The program > will access this file display an individual and parents, children, etc, if > known in a web page that is nicely formatted; that's fine. What happens > since May 2012 is that from the top page there is a choice of displaying > all surnames (alphabetical), or a box in which one can input a surname, > which then will result in a display of all persons with that name. That > won't work now, and neither will the all-surnames display work. One can > also choose to display persons sorted on title or estate, which also > doesn't work. > > The problem really is in the text file (the base). I have several > different databases here, and the others, one of which contains 50,000 > individuals, perform perfectly. But in my big database, it hangs, seeming > to get lost, when asked to display surnames or estates. > > The data in the text file is supposed to look like this, more or less: > > 0 @I1@ INDI > 1 NAME Bob /Cox/ > 1 SEX M > 1 FAMS @F1@ > 1 CHAN > 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 > 0 @I2@ INDI > 1 NAME Joann /Para/ > 1 SEX F > 1 FAMS @F1@ > 1 CHAN > 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 > 0 @I3@ INDI > 1 NAME Bobby Jo /Cox/ > 1 SEX M > 1 FAMC @F1@ > 1 CHAN > 2 DATE 11 FEB 2006 > 0 @F1@ FAM > 1 HUSB @I1@ > 1 WIFE @I2@ > 1 MARR > 1 CHIL @I3@ > 0 TRLR > > I also can't create a backup or copy to anywhere, which is crucial, and I > can't move the base file, either to another location on the hard drive or > to another device. I also can't get it to re-sort, which would be nice, > because that cleans up "ghosts" or leftover info on individuals that don't > "exist" any more because they have been merged with another one who turned > out to be the same person. This problem first cropped up when I had either > 86,000 individuals or 82,000 individuals, 2 1/2 years ago. > > If I ever use the wrong terminology, I aploogize, but I'm not an IT > specialist. I am a Linux User located in Worcester. Last time I wrote a > program, it was in Basic. I should have said, I guess, is that there must > be some bad characters in this text file "base", which makes it impossible > for the program that uses it to perform certain functions, such as Sort, or > to display certain data, such as all persons of the surname {Whatever}. > > Liz > > I didn't know what could be meant by "broken text file", now I see > that you mean "broken file processing program". Do you have > the source for the geneology program? If not, insert rant here. > > Does the program crash as soon as you import the file, or > only when you do something particular? My first impulse > would be to put printf commands into the input procedure. > > Do you have a spec for what the data is supposed to look like, > or is this one of those take-the-money-and-(run|hide| > sell updates) > > programs, whose authors think that's super double secret eye pee? > > > > The text file has been broken since May 2012. This is a genealogical > > database, that runs in a program that accesses the file, which consists > of > > names, dates, places, etc, plus notes. I think the bogus character might > be > > an at sign @ but if so, it won't help to search for it, because GEDCOMS > > contain several @ for each individual. My database contains 115,000 > > individuals. I think I know what family (surname) I was working on when > it > > broke, though, and it still hangs there. I guess I could grep the file > for > > that surname and get it to output a couple of lines after it finds each > > instance. > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wlug mailing list > Wlug(a)mail.wlug.org > http://mail.wlug.org/mailman/listinfo/wlug > > -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

Oct. 8, 2014