Spawning a 32 bit app

Spawning a 32 bit app

[Randy Fontan]

Hello,
I'm currently working on a fairly large app (120000+ lines of code) which is written in Ada 
(Rational Vads NT Compiler v6.2.1(e)) which is a client/server application. It talks to an Oracle 
and Access database. 
This is my problem...
This application allows for the interfacing (via Microsoft MPX file format) with several NAS 
(Network Analysis System ie:Microsoft Project) packages. There is a user menu choice that builds the 
mpx file and then uses the CreateProcess function call to spawn the appropriate NAS package. After 
the CreateProcess, there is a WaitForSingleObject function call that waits until the NAS package has 
been exited (functional requirements called for this asyncronous relationship). At this point, my 
application reads in the mpx file and updates the access mdb.
Spawning 16 bit NAS packages works fine. But when I spawn a 32 bit NAS app like Microsoft Project 
for Windows95, it spawns ok but when I exit MSProject, the process just hangs up and the only way 
out is to quit the task in the task manager. All 32 bit apps spawned under my application behave 
this way. Just as a test, I've created a little hacked test which spawns a 32 bit app and waits 
(maybe 20 lines of code) and it behaves normally (on NT 3.51 and 95). I've tried adjusting the 
runtime stack in my large application and everyting else I can think of. I've tried spawning the 32 
bit app everyway I can think of (different parameters) with no luck. I've talked with Rational and 
they haven't a clue as to what the problem may be. This problem behaves the same under Windows NT 
(I'm using 3.51) and Windows 95.
If anyone out there has any ideas, I would really appreciate you dropping me a line as I'm up 
against the wall on this one. 

Thanks
Randy
fontanm@ex1.wes.army.mil

Re: Spawning a 32 bit app

[Ted Dennison]

Randy Fontan wrote:
> 
> I'm currently working on a fairly large app (120000+ lines of code) which is written in Ada
> (Rational Vads NT Compiler v6.2.1(e)) which is a client/server application. It talks to an Oracle
> and Access database.

> Spawning 16 bit NAS packages works fine. But when I spawn a 32 bit NAS app like Microsoft Project
> for Windows95, it spawns ok but when I exit MSProject, the process just hangs up and the only way
> out is to quit the task in the task manager. All 32 bit apps spawned under my application behave
> this way. Just as a test, I've created a little hacked test which spawns a 32 bit app and waits

This PROBABLY isn't it, but just out of curiosity, is your parent library "self" or "self_thr"?
"self" puts all your tasks in one thread, while "self_thr" puts each task in its own thread. If
you try to perform thread operations (like WaitForSingleObject) using "self", your whole program
will freeze, not just the calling task. For some (stupid) reason, "self" is the default.

I had to find this out the hard way.
 :-(

-- 
T.E.D.          
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