Notes from 13mar01 conversation regarding alad_server_bin


  1. As of this writing,
    1. nirc2 start alad invokes restart_alad (both in /kroot/kss/nirc2/scripts).
    2. restart_alad invokes $BINDIR/run_alad_server.
    3. $BINDIR/run_alad_server is a link into the source directory, /kroot/kss/nirc2/alad/keyword
    4. /kroot/kss/nirc2/alad/keyword/run_alad_server invokes /kroot/kss/nirc2/alad/keyword/alad_server_bin
    5. Three backups exist: 
      nirc2{nirc2eng}25: sum /kroot/kss/nirc2/alad/keyword/alad_server_bin ~/backups/alad_server_bin.13mar01 /kroot/kss/nirc2/alad/keyword/4.2/alad_server_bin /kroot/rel/default/Versions/alad/4.2/alad_server_bin
18074 849 /kroot/kss/nirc2/alad/keyword/alad_server_bin
18074 849 /home/nirc2eng/backups/alad_server_bin.13mar01
18074 849 /kroot/kss/nirc2/alad/keyword/4.2/alad_server_bin
18074 849 /kroot/rel/default/Versions/alad/4.2/alad_server_bin
  2. Reasons to switch to the numbered version scheme (in /kroot/rel/default/Versions) that we use for other binaries:
    1. Allows reversion to previous executables.
    2. CVS only allows you to rebuild a previous executable. This isn't guaranteed to yield the same result as saving the previous executable.
    3. Avoids clobbering stable version by typing make in the source directory.

  3. Disadvantages to the numbered version scheme (in /kroot/rel/default/Versions) that we use for other binaries:
    1. You have to remember to either
      1. Do the release step or
      2. Use an alternate start up script (see 4.7 below)
      when testing a newly developed version.
    2. It's bad practice to rely on executables which you cannot rebuild from source (This is a valid point, but it's nice to have those old versions to confirm that a new behavior is the result of a change).

  4. Recommended steps to transition alad_server_bin to the numbered version scheme (in /kroot/rel/default/Versions) that we use for other binaries: Change the link in /kroot/rel/default/bin to point to the (identical) executable in /kroot/rel/default/Versions/alad/4.2/alad_server_bin by shutting down the software, notifying the users, then typing 

    1. rlogin localhost -l nirc2dev
    2. cd /kroot/rel/default/bin
    3. rm alad_server_bin
    4. ln -s /kroot/rel/default/Versions/alad/4.2/alad_server_bin
    5. /bin/sum alad_server_bin
      (should report 18074 849).

    6. cd /kroot/kss/nirc2/alad/keyword
    7. cp run_alad_server test_alad_server
      (this can be used later to run the un-released version after typing make)

    8. edit run_alad_server and change line 94 from 

      1. exec /kroot/kss/nirc2/alad/keyword/alad_server_bin \
        to 
      2. exec /kroot/rel/default/bin/alad_server_bin \