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Subj: Re: App crashes mystery
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Date: Thu, 09 Oct 1997 21:37:19 -0700
To: erics@picksys.com, ntdev@atria.com
From: Jan Bottorff <janb@pmatrix.com>
Subject: Re: App crashes mystery
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There may be an easy answer. The MSVC 4.2 (and all previous versions)
run-time library has a bug in it's heap error handling. For example, if you
say (using VC 4.2):
foo = malloc(1000000000); // allocate a billion bytes
The app will just go poof. No messages of any kind.
The reason for this is Microsoft changed the return codes for VirtualAlloc
starting in NT 3.51. The MSVC run-time checks for specific return codes for
VirtualAlloc and calls ExitProcess if it's not one it knows about. If you
run out of swap space, you get an error that means out of swap space under
NT 3.51, which is not an error MSVC knew about under NT 3.5. If you look at
the run-time source for malloc, you'll see where this all happens. It's
anytime the run-time thinks something is wrong with the heap. Actual heap
corruption can cause this too. I think console apps printed a message that
said something about heap corruption.
I don't believe any fix was ever released. The MS answer was use MSVC 5.0.
I know MANY apps built with pre-5.0 MSVC have this problem.
I can remember reading product reviews where this would happen (like a
major magazine's review of NT web servers). They said Netscape's web server
was unstable and sometimes just went poof.
The truth is Microsoft's language group was unwilling to release a patch
for a bug that caused many program failures and the OS group was unwilling
to release a patch to make the return codes like they were in NT 3.5. I
think my personal confidence of NT as a viable OS was significantly
downgraded when I found out the details of this.
I sent Microsoft feedback suggesting then needed some sort of versioning of
return codes from API's. That is, an app written to expect NT 3.5 valid
return codes will not see codes only valid in NT 4.0. The parameters only
define part of the behaivor of API's. The return codes, exception info, and
side effects also are things an app expects to be a certain way.
I think the whole battle over Java conformance is exactly this kind of
issue. Microsoft has a proven track record of NOT keeping your apps
compatable (bug free compatable) with new OS versions. I for one am a
little tired of replacing all my apps every few years because the OS has
changed and my fine old apps no longer work correctly.
One sortof work around is be sure LOTS of swap space is allocated, like 500
MBytes.
- Jan
At 03:55 PM 10/9/97 -0700, you wrote:
>I have an app which crashes once in a while without any message: no dr
>watson, no 'abnormal termination', no 'pure virtual function call
>abort', no nothing... The customer is on SP1, but I am going to upgrade
>to SP3 asap (they have a dual pp200). Could it be it?
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Internet: Jan Bottorff janb@pmatrix.com
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