425166 - apparent JavaScript error when filling in a form for online database, only with js vsn 1.8

Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME

(Firefox :: General, defect)

Description

[David Denison]

User-Agent:       Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9b5pre) Gecko/2008032505 Minefield/3.0b5pre
Build Identifier: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.1; en-US; rv:1.9b5pre) Gecko/2008032505 Minefield/3.0b5pre

I think I may have encountered a bug in JavaScript 1.8, though I don’t know enough about js (a) to specify exactly what it is, (b) to see whether it has already been logged.  (I really have tried.  Sorry.  I want to be helpful, so please give guidance.)  In brief, an online database (academic journal admin) that has worked fine for some ten years (and still does with Fx 2, Fx 1 and IE 6) is giving a js error for certain operations when accessed with Fx 3b pre5 and other Fx 3 betas.  The db interface uses ColdFusion and JavaScript, and the js module that misbehaves (some 800 lines of tidy code, which I can supply) provides an editing screen with multiple independent sections:  dropdown lists with submit buttons, checkboxes with action buttons, etc.  With Fx 3, a routine edit via checkbox and action button throws up an error as if you were doing a different edit from elsewhere on the page and had failed to select from a dropdown box.  Any clues?  Thanks.

Reproducible: Always

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Log into database used by editors of academic journal.  Private access:  I can enable limited access for testing if desired.
2. Select article in db with an overdue event.
3. Click "Edit article" button.
4. Check "Clear status?" box against that event.
5. Click "Click Event Status" button and confirm action.

Actual Results:  
6. An error is returned "You have not specified any Associated names to add.
Select at least one name before proceeding."

Expected Results:  
The event would be cleared and would no longer be shown as overdue.

This error implies you had instead clicked the button "Submit the new names" elsewhere on the screen.  The error code and the data handling for the whole page are contained in an 800-line js module, professionally written and neatly coded, with internal comments, available on request.  The error implies that the wrong function has been called, or rather, that none of a series of tests of type

if(getSelectObject(formObj.update_A_Name_ID_1) != "")

returned true, when all of them should have because all the fields were empty.

Comment 1

[David Denison]

Nightly Gecko/2008041807 Minefield/3.0pre seems to fix the problem.  Can anyone tell me why, or where to look to see what changes have been made?  Thanks.

Comment 2

[Tyler Downer [He/Him]]

Reporter, are you still seeing this issue with Firefox 3.6.x or later in safe mode? If not, please close. These links can help you in your testing.
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+Mode
http://support.mozilla.com/kb/Managing+profiles

Comment 3

[David Denison]

No - issue was fixed quite quickly, way back when.  Have used database loads since then, currently  with Fx 3.6.7 and Minefield 4.0bpre or whatever it's called, this issue doesn't arise at all. Apologies if I should have closed this sooner.