Changes in Find-a-Drug software 1.30c

This document was last updated on 13 June 2005 10:00 (GMT).

Loader

A local copy is now used on networked nodes under Windows which starts the central copy once this node is accessible (or times out after 15 minutes).

Setup

The software can now run as a service. New installations of the software are configured as a service (XP,200x) or a scheduled task (ME,98) by default. The configuration has to be saved (in the Find-a-Drug control panel) for existing installations. When the software is already running, you must restart the PC to start the service. A networked client running as service cannot open any windows - and the controls for doing so are not on the tray icon menu.
A scheduling option allows the software to run only at specified times during weekdays or weekends. This could be used to avoid running the software during working hours.
It is now possible to use proxy settings under Windows separately from Internet Explorer.
The configuration data stored in fadsetup.dat and is not backwards compatible with isetup.dat.
We believe we have fixed a problem which could lead to the configuration data being corrupted.
When saving the configuration, the software now retries with alternative servers listed in cgi.lis before reporting a failure.
The status bar now reports the same information as the tool tip.
A new command line option "-stop" has been implemented in 1.30c which stops the software until loader is run again. It takes up to 1 minute for THINK and SERVER to respond.

THINK client

In mixed Linux/Windows installations, THINK no longer writes directly to the queue. Instead data is written to a temporary file which server then reads and writes to the queue. This should avoid some obscure queue errors.

Under certain circumstances such as a system failure, the results file and the progress file could be out of synchronisation. When THINK restarts it now checks that the files are compatible and if not restarts from after the last recorded hit. This should reduce or eliminate jobs being rejected because the results file is missing data.

Under battery power with 1.30b, THINK goes to sleep (after a short delay) and FaDsetup will not attempt to wake it until mains power resumes. This contrasts with 1.30a when loader would not start the software and FaDsetup put THINK to sleep.

Some internal and algorithmic changes have also been made.

Job queue server

The output from "Client Info" has been extended to include the CPU rating and CPU time (this requires KDFOLD=YES to be present in think.env). This uses data from files named computer.tip which replace pcname.nnn previously written.

Under Linux, "file not found" messages no longer occur during initial startup of the software.

It is now possible to run more than one copy of server. This is intended for use under Linux when manual downloads of jobs and uploads of results can be executed without stopping the "main" copy.

Automatic Upgrade

This upgrade should proceed automatically and take about 2 minutes.

Fixed problems

	Running networked clients as a service A problem with networked clients has been resolved in 1.30b providing members specify a username that has network access when the software is installed/configured for those clients.
	Running networked clients as a service under Win9x It is no longer necessary to specify as username and password (they weren't used anyway).
	Startup errors for networked clients If something went wrong starting up the software on a network client, it was not possible to display a message (no access to desktop) or write to the logfile (no local network access). Under 1.30c, the software attempts to send an e-mail as well as write to loader.log in the same folder as loader.exe.
	Jobs often failed when upgrading from 1.25 to 1.30 1.30b resolves this problem.
	Jobs complete immediately when continued after no hits This problem was reporting under Linux and has been resolved in 1.30b.
	Query name and CPU time omitted from .tip files Under Linux with 1.30a the computer.tip files did not include the query name or CPU time. This has been resolved under 1.30b.

Outstanding problems

	fadsetup.scr can crash THINK Under Windows XP when FaDsetup is configured as the screensaver, it often causes THINK to crash when it starts. Under 1.30b fadsetup.scr is no longer present in Windows XP!
	Linux messages Under Linux there are no messages written to the screen during an upgrade (although there are to server.log and loader.log). This can cause confusion.