I normally enable the Putty log file for the Putty console terminal to cause all console messages etc. to be logged - just in case something happens to OpenVMS and has to be diagnosed.
When doing this with the Putty console terminal started by FreeAXP, I had to look around quite a while, until I finally found the Putty.log file under C:\Windows\SysWOW64 - running Windows 7 Enterprise.
Could Putty be started with the FreeAXP install directory as the 'default directory' ?
I also recognized, that all the console messages will automatically be included in the ALPHA.LOG FreeAXP emulator log file. While this seems to be a good idea, it might cause problems, when emulating a real Alpha system, where noone was watching the console terminal before and where lots of messages where being output in 'normal' operating mode.
Thanks for the feedback. The best way to default the location of the PuTTY log would be with a command line switch on the PuTTY call within the FreeAXP configuration file. However, I do not see such an option available in PuTTY.
Barring that, the second best option is to use the Change Settings option in PuTTY the first time it launches the FreeAXP console, configure PuTTY to your specifications, and then save the changes. Future sessions will then launch with your save changes. I'll make a note to add this suggestion to the user guide.
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RE: consider to start Putty with default directory
if I look at the Putty console terminal process started for PersonalAlpha with Process Explorere (-> properties -> image), I see a default directory string - at least on Windows XP - which matches the PersonalAlpha install directory.
I couldn't see this on WIndows 7 Enterprise with Process Explorer.
This observation seems to imply, that there should be some way to start a process with a given default directory string. So if you can figure out that parameter, it would be nice, if Putty is actually started with the FreeAXP install directory as the default directory.
If there is a way to launch PuTTY with logging enabled from the command line, there are lots of people on the Internet that would like to learn about it, including me! The best explanation I've found regarding enabling PuTTY logging requires a registry tweak:
One of our development goals for FreeAXP and Avanti is to stay out of the Windows Registry as much as possible, so we're not going to add a registry modification for PuTTY.
However, in discussing this issue with our chief hardware illusionist, there is another option that may serve your purpose equally well. It is feasible to add a serial log to each serial port (OPAO and TTA0). It can be accomplished by adding the following code to the FreeAXP configuration file.
thanks for showing another alternative on logging the output of the serial port(s).
I don't need a 'registry hack' to enable Putty logging, this I can easily do myself at any time Putty has been started. I normally specify console_&Y_&M_&D.log as the log file name. I would have expected to find the log file in the FreeAXP install directory, but in this case I had to go search for it... - I could have used Browse... to locate the directory.
Example:
If you are in directory C:\X and start Putty with > C:\Program Files\Putty.exe and then try to turn on logging, the 'default directory' for the log file becomes C:\X - check with Browse. So all I'm trying to ask for is: before starting Putty do the equivalent of $ SET DEFAULT C:\Program Files\FreeAXP - sorry, I'm not a Windows programmer...
By switching Session Logging from 'Printable Output' to 'None' and back to 'Printable Output' I can even reset the log file while Putty is running. And the new file will have a new name (based on the current date). This becomes useful, if running an emulator in production mode and you don't want to have to reboot to reset the log file.
while we're discussing log file issues, here is another feedback, especially for the production versions:
Whenever you use log files being written directly from the emulator, please consider to think about - and eventually implement - some kind of automatic log file maintenance.
I've seen cases where something happened and a running emulator wrote a multi GB log file. I've even seen a case, where an emulator log file overflowed the Windows disk.
In those cases, you don't want to stop 'production' to just reset the log file or even try to look at it. As I explained before, it's easy with Putty: you can re-start the log file while running.
For log files written directly by the emulator, consider:
- specify maximum size and have emulator automatically create a new file and save the old one (with ;-1)
- specify maximum lifetime (30 days) of the log file
- create some mechanism to reset the log file(s) based on some 'signal' received from an external program
Log files are an improvement versus real Alphas, but they can also create new problems.
Yep, planned for the production release FreeAXP will specific a default size for the log file (300K that can be changed via a command line parameter. If the size is exceeded, it will use the versioning trick (why has no other O/S implemented versioning) to retain up to 5 logs. We'll probably put in a version limit command line parameter as well.
Edited by Bruce Claremont on April 11 2010 05:17
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that can be changed via a command line parameter. If the size is exceeded, it will use the versioning trick (why has no other O/S implemented versioning) to retain up to 5 logs. We'll probably put in a version limit command line parameter as well.