Bugs: Other Software Packages

The following is a list of known conflicts between CIAO and other software packages.

A list of bugs fixed in CIAO 4.0 is available.

Caveats

1. Python Packaged with CIAO OTS (12 Dec 2007)

2. IPython Packaged with CIAO OTS (12 Dec 2007)

3. Linking external software: DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH not defined when starting CIAO (04 Jun 2008)
   (Mac OS X Intel and PPC)

4. cannot restore segment prot after reloc: Permission denied (04 Jun 2008)

Bugs

1. Parameter file conflicts with HEAsoft

2. Linking external software against the CIAO infrastructure (08 Jun 2007)
   (Mac OS X Intel and PPC)

3. Ghostscript tools (gs, gv, etc.) fail in CIAO window (02 Apr 2008)

Caveats

1. Python Packaged with CIAO OTS (12 Dec 2007)

   CIAO 4.0 uses the Python software packaged in the CIAO OTS directory for the Sherpa and ChIPS applications. In the window where CIAO is sourced any other Python installation is overwritten: this may interfere with other Python applications on the user's system. At present, the workaround is to run CIAO in a separate window from other Python applications. The CXC is working to resolve this issue.

2. IPython Packaged with CIAO OTS (12 Dec 2007)

   CIAO 4.0 includes IPython 0.8 in the CIAO OTS directory which is used by Sherpa and ChIPS to provide command-line user interfaces. These programs create an IPython profile in the directory $HOME/.ipython-ciao.

   If IPython users want any personal customizations to be available when running CIAO, they will have to copy them from $HOME/.ipython to $HOME/.ipython-ciao.

3. Linking external software: DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH not defined when starting CIAO (04 Jun 2008)
   (Mac OS X Intel and PPC)

   DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH, the environment variable which Mac OS X uses for finding shared libraries, is not defined when a user sets up a CIAO 4.0 environment. Rather, the variable is defined as needed in the wrapper scripts that call individual tools, and then undefined when the wrapper script exits. This is fine for the majority of CIAO users.

   However, advanced users who want to link their own tools to CIAO libraries will have to explicitly set DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH themselves in order for the linking to work.

4. cannot restore segment prot after reloc: Permission denied (04 Jun 2008)

   This means SE Linux is enabled on the user's system. There are 2 things that will fix this; do either of the following, not both:

   1. On the CIAO libraries and executables in the following directories

      $ASCDS_INSTALL/lib 
      $ASCDS_INSTALL/bin 
      $ASCDS_INSTALL/binexe 
      $ASCDS_INSTALL/ots/lib 
      $ASCDS_INSTALL/ots/bin 
      $ASCDS_INSTALL/ots/binexe
      

      run the commands:

      $ su root
      # cd (to above CIAO directories)
      # chcon -c -v -R -u system_u -r object_r -t lib_t *
      # chcon -t texrel_shlib_t *
      

   2. Disable SE Linux

Bugs

1. Parameter file conflicts with HEAsoft

   Both CIAO and FTOOLS use parameter files to store parameter values for tools, and provide tools for manipulating these files (e.g. plist, pset, punlearn; they have the same name in both systems). The location of the parameter files is taken from the $PFILES environment variables for CIAO and FTOOLS (or $UPARM if $PFILES does not exist).

   Common errors are:

   pget: could not get parameter "foo"
   
   and
   
   The following parameter:
       "foo,b,l,no,,,"Keyword""
   has the following error(s):
     o Mode field "l" is invalid.
   
   and
   
   The following parameter:
   "foo,i,h,INDEF,INDEF,INDEF,"description""
   has the following error(s):
   o Problem converting minimum field "INDEF" to parameter type "i".
   o Problem converting maximum field "INDEF" to parameter type "i".
   

   We recommend that you start FTOOLS before CIAO to minimize problems.

   More information on this problem is available in the CIAO and FTOOLS section of the Starting CIAO thread. Also refer to the related FAQ "The tool is failing because ")sval" has somehow shown up in the parameter value.".

2. Linking external software against the CIAO infrastructure (08 Jun 2007)
   (Mac OS X Intel and PPC)

   The CXC libraries libpix.dylib, libds.dylib, cxcparam.dylib, and libNewHdr2.dylib have dependencies on libreadline and libhistory that are hardwired to CXC library files.

   Workaround:

   To link external software against these libraries, add:

   -L<location of CIAO>/ots/lib -lreadline -lhistory
   

   to the link lines.

   The linking issue will be fixed in the next CIAO release.

3. Ghostscript tools (gs, gv, etc.) fail in CIAO window (02 Apr 2008)

   Because ghostscript is packaged with CIAO, some users may see a conflict with the CIAO-installed ghostscript and their system version. This conflict may also present itself in ghostscript tools such as gv. If the following error message occurs when trying to run ghostscript application, it is most likely due to a version conflict:

   Error: /invalidfontGPL Ghostscript 8.56: Unrecoverable error, exit code 1 in /findfont
   

   Workaround:

   In a terminal where CIAO has not been started:

   unix% gs -h
   ...
   Search path:
      . : /usr/share/ghostscript/8.15/lib :
      /usr/share/ghostscript/8.15/Resource : /usr/share/ghostscript/fonts :
      /usr/share/fonts/default/ghostscript : /usr/share/fonts/default/Type1 :
      /usr/share/fonts/default/amspsfnt/pfb :
      /usr/share/fonts/default/cmpsfont/pfb : /usr/share/fonts/japanese :
      /etc/ghostscript
   For more information, see /usr/share/ghostscript/8.15/doc/Use.htm.
   Report bugs to bug-gs@ghostscript.com, using the form in Bug-form.htm.
   

   Copy all the font directories from the search path into the GS_LIB environment variable:

   unix% setenv GS_LIB "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts:/usr/share/fonts/
   default/ghostscript:/usr/share/fonts/default/Type1:/usr/share
   /fonts/default/amspsfnt/pfb:/usr/share/fonts/default/cmpsfont
   /pfb:/usr/share/fonts/japanese:/etc/ghostscript"
   

Bugs fixed in CIAO 4.0

The following is a list of bugs that were fixed in the CIAO 4.0 software release.

1. CIAO and IDL: DYLD_BIND_AT_LAUNCH environment variable
   (Mac OS X)

   If IDL is started in a window in which CIAO is already running, an error of the following format will occur:

   unix% idl                                                                      
   
     dyld: Symbol not found: __XEditResPutWidgetInfo
       Referenced from: /Applications/rsi/idl_6.1/bin/bin.darwin.ppc/libXm.2.dylib
       Expected in: flat namespace
   
     Trace/BPT trap
   

   This is due to the fact that both CIAO and IDL use the DYLD_BIND_AT_LAUNCH environment variable. By unsetting this variable, it is possible to get IDL to run:

   unix% unsetenv DYLD_BIND_AT_LAUNCH  
   
   unix% idl
     IDL Version 6.1.1, Mac OS X (darwin ppc m32). (c) 2004, Research Systems, Inc.
     Installation number: 94064-13.
     Licensed for use by: Department License    
   

   However, DYLD_BIND_AT_LAUNCH is required for the CIAO GUIs and ahelp (the help system) to run. Without it, they will try to start up but hang. The CIAO command-line tools are unaffected by the environment variable.

   Workaround:

   The only workaround to this problem at the present time is to run CIAO and IDL in separate windows.