[ic] Sudden loss of products.comment in otherwise perfectcatalog

[interchange-users@interchange.redhat.com (Dan Browning)]

At 09:44 PM 4/30/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>At 08:30 PM 4/30/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>>At 06:24 PM 4/30/2002 -0700, you wrote:
>>>(dedicated RH 7.2, IC 4.8.3, RPC mode, Pgsql database)
>>>
>>>The "comment" field (AKA "long description") of ~75% of a client's 
>>>products went blank (NULL) recently.  TGIF (Thank Goodness I Found a 
>>>backup).  I don't yet have enough data to be useful to anyone (I can't 
>>>even reproduce the problem yet), but I thought there was a chance 
>>>someone had already seen this one or had some ideas.
>>>
>>>The only connecting factor between the ones that disappeared is that 
>>>they were quite large and full of HTML tags.  (The 25% that remain have 
>>>simple one-line entries in the comment field).
>>>
>>>  * We don't know the specific time it happened
>>>  * Current Intel says no one was using the admin
>>>  * error.log, /var/log/messages, and logs/* didn't reveal anything
>>>  * I'm thinking about turning on query logging, but I'll probably wait 
>>> until I can reproduce it.
>>>
>>>At any rate, just posting as a shot in the dark.  :-)
>>
>>First thoughts:
>>- field size in Pgsql has been truncated for the comments field somehow;
>
>I thought so too, but the field didn't seem to change from TEXT.
>
>>- somebody tried to fiddle with the source text file in windows, it 
>>contained embedded carriage returns in the comments field, not a problem 
>>in Unix but a *big* problem for Microsoft products... net result: 
>>comments seriously chopped;
>
>If they did, they wont admit it.  :-)
>
>>I would check the dates on products.txt, products.sql and the Pgsql logs 
>>(if you have them, sounds like you may not) for any evidence which 
>>roughly corresponds timewise with when the problem was first noticed.
>
>I appreciate the comments and I'll see if I can replicate the problem 
>again (with the SQL log turned on this time).  :-)

I can't seem to replicate the problem, so I'll have to chalk it up to one 
of those stray gamma particles caused by a solar flare.  If you're reading 
this months later in the mailing list archive, follow the same procedure I 
did to protect your computer:  wrap it completely in aluminum foil.  While 
you're at it, be sure to make yourself an aluminum helmet for those prying 
alien mind probes.  :-)


+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
| Dan Browning, Kavod Technologies <db@kavod.com>
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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