26497 - If logfile is open and xpi triggered, it won't post even after close/reopen of logfile.

Status: VERIFIED INVALID

(Core Graveyard :: Installer: XPInstall Engine, defect, P3)

Description

[David Epstein]

build 2000020312-M14. Mac only.
1. Open logfile in SimpleText.
2. Go to http://jimbob/trigger2.html
3. Trigger a .xpi
4. Close logfile.
5. Either close SimpleText or leave it open. Doesn't matter.
6. Reopen logfile in SimpleText.
Result: xpi results aren't entered in logfile.
Expected: it should post to logfile.

Comment 1

[Cathleen]

David, if you have the the text file open, can you still use editor to make 
changes and overwirtes the file?

I'm thinking this might be a limitation due to Mac OS.

Comment 2

[David Epstein]

If logfile is open, on any platform, you can edit it. On MacOS, I triggered xpis 
with logfile open using SimpleText, MSWord 98, and BBEdit 5.0. Only BBEdit 
captured the logfile entry after closing/reopening the logfile.

Comment 3

[Daniel Veditz [:dveditz]]

Invalid. OS's will only allow one user to open a file for writing. If that's 
*you* it ain't gonna be *us*.

Some editors only read from a file, and open it for writing only when an 
operation like "Save" is performed. You will get different results depending on 
the workings of the applications involved.

We really only have 3 choices:
 - abort the install if we can't write to the log (Silly)
 - open "log2" and write to that if we can't write to the first
 - drop it on the floor (our current choice).

Given than normal people don't open their log file in editors I'm not inclined 
to do anything with this one.  A related issue that's *much* more compelling is 
what to do if the install directory cannot be written to at all (i.e. install 
local skin on Unix or locked-down NT). Simply renaming the file (option two) 
won't help, we'd have to hunt around for a world-writable directory. I guess 
you could open that as a bug/feature.

Comment 4

[David Epstein]

OK.