MakeRwys.exe issue

[Algernon Lacey]

Dear Peter,

I hope I am posting in the right place . . . I am new here.

I use "PF3 - ATC at its best" from Oncourse Software and that uses files generated by MakeRwys.exe . I recently ran into a problem with that software, which the developer traced to some curious entries in the F5.csv file. Here is an extract:

Quote

USCC,1,128.30,"USCC"
USCC,6,125.20,"CHELYABINSK START"
USCC,8,124.00,"CHELYABINSK APPROACH"
USCC,8,124.70,"CHELYABINSK APPROACH"
USCG,0,0,"Chelyabinsk Bakal"
USCG,6,126.80,"BAKAL TOWER"
USCG,8,119.25,"BAKAL APPROACH"
USCM,0,0,"Magnitogorsk"
USCM,1,132.80,"USCM"
USCM,6,120.80,"MAGNITOGORSK"
USCM,6,124.00,"MAGNITOGORSK"
USCU,0,0,"Uprun"
USCU,3,22.00,,"ÐÑÁÍñêàÿions check for Airport USCU:

          Delete all taxiways!

          Delete all runways and starts!

          Delete all helipads!

Œ§–Q"
USCU,6,128.50,"Àçîâñêàÿions check for Airport USCU:

          Delete all taxiways!

          Delete all runways and starts!

          Delete all helipads!

Œ§–Q"
USDD,0,0,"Salekhard"
USDD,1,120.10,"USDD"
USDD,6,118.60,"SALEKHARD START"
USDD,8,120.80,"SALEKHARD KRUG"
USDD,10,123.17,"SALEKHARD TRANSIT"
USDD,12,127.80,"SALEKHARD"

I am sure you will be able to identify two issues at a glance:
1. Curious names for the Comms, probably caused by cyrillic script in the AF2 file
2. An incorrect channel of 22.0 which should presumably read 122.0

I can confirm that correcting both items in the AF2 file resolved the issue. I don't know whether you would want to modify the software to cope with such issues or whether you feel it is up to the user to use only "good" AFD files, but thought it best to notify you of this.

Kindest regards

John

[Pete Dowson]

6 minutes ago, Algernon Lacey said:

I am sure you will be able to identify two issues at a glance:
1. Curious names for the Comms, probably caused by cyrillic script in the AF2 file
2. An incorrect channel of 22.0 which should presumably read 122.0

I can confirm that correcting both items in the AF2 file resolved the issue. I don't know whether you would want to modify the software to cope with such issues or whether you feel it is up to the user to use only "good" AFD files, but thought it best to notify you of this.

I'll have a look if you Zip up the responsible BGL and send it to me, but there's probably no way I can make it deal with all BGL oddities.

But have you checked in the sim about that 22 frequency? Does the Sim read it as 22 or 122? I really don't see how MakeRunways could have logged it incorrectly. it just outputs what it reads, with a bit of formatting. If the sim reads it that way then so should MakeRunways. (Also the names -- does the sim show Cyrillic? Maybe only in a Cyrillic version of Windows?

Pete

 

 

[Algernon Lacey]

Thanks for the reply - I am sorry if I didn't make myself clear but the gobbledygook and the wrong frequency are in the AF2 file so your software is reading it as it stands. The curiosity is the comments in the output file about deleting taxiways, runways etc which seem to be what stops PF3 dead in its tracks. Modifying those entries fixes the F5.csv file entries.

I have the original AF2 file here and am happy to email it in zip form but I cannot find your address anywhere (I may be missing the obvious!)  - is there any chance you could PM it to me please?

Best regards,

John

[Pete Dowson]

3 hours ago, Algernon Lacey said:

The curiosity is the comments in the output file about deleting taxiways

Those are merely logging the commands for those in the BGL!

Most good scenery addons delete previous stuff relating to their airport before adding their own. The deletes are done before the additions. If you look at the log again you will see that there's another entry afterwards for the same file/airport adding the stuff it wants, to replace the stuff deleted!

3 hours ago, Algernon Lacey said:

Modifying those entries fixes the F5.csv file entries.

The "Runways.txt" file is a LOG of what the program is doing! No amount of changes there will change any of the files it produces! MakeRunways doesn't read that file, it merely produces it to tell you exactly what it is doing!

If previous versions of the airport, etc, are not removed before another layer for that airport is added there would be problems. That is why sceneries do it!

3 hours ago, Algernon Lacey said:

I have the original AF2 file here and am happy to email it in zip form but I cannot find your address anywhere

Well, it is mentioned all over the place. If it won't attach here (most file types will once zipped), by all means send to petedowson@btconnect.com. But there's really no point if you are simply misunderstanding the log file as some sort of control file.

Pete

 

[Algernon Lacey]

24 minutes ago, Pete Dowson said:

Those are merely logging the commands for those in the BGL!

Most good scenery addons delete previous stuff relating to their airport before adding their own. The deletes are done before the additions. If you look at the log again you will see that there's another entry afterwards for the same file/airport adding the stuff it wants, to replace the stuff deleted!

OK, understood, but they don't appear for the hundreds of other entries. That to me indicates something amiss.

Quote

The "Runways.txt" file is a LOG of what the program is doing! No amount of changes there will change any of the files it produces! MakeRunways doesn't read that file, it merely produces it to tell you exactly what it is doing!

If previous versions of the airport, etc, are not removed before another layer for that airport is added there would be problems. That is why sceneries do it!

I seem to be having a lot of trouble explaining things clearly to you. I have not mentioned runways.txt anywhere!. I have been talking about the generated file F5.csv which is read by the PFE software. I am aware how AFD files work through the scenery layers - this works fine in Flight Simulator but gives this problem in the F5.csv file when generated.

Quote

Well, it is mentioned all over the place. If it won't attach here (most file types will once zipped), by all means send to petedowson@btconnect.com. But there's really no point if you are simply misunderstanding the log file as some sort of control file.

The file is now on its way to you by email.

I am not misunderstanding any log as a control file. I am simply notifying you of an issue with an imprefect AF2 file which, as I said, you may wish to deal with or equally you may feel it is up to the user of add-ons to ensure they fix or discard them.

Many thanks,

John

[Pete Dowson]

39 minutes ago, Algernon Lacey said:

I have not mentioned runways.txt anywhere!. I have been talking about the generated file F5.csv

Ah ... the problem I had is that those messages:

8 hours ago, Algernon Lacey said:

          Delete all taxiways!

          Delete all runways and starts!

          Delete all helipads!

 

are only ever output to "Runways.txt" as part of the log. Something seems to be corrupt in your file, somehow getting bits of the other. I will certainly try your BGL here, but the file handles are separate, assigned by Windows, and I'm not sure how they could get crossed.

Perhaps, as well as the BGL, you could ZIP up the Runways.txt file and send that too. It will be very large but being text is zips quite well.

I'll let you know what I find.

Pete

 

[Algernon Lacey]

Hi Pete,

I have now emailed the runways.txt file too. You should already have the AF2 file - if either haven't reached you let me know and I will find another way of getting them both to you.

IMPORTANT - in re-creating the situation using the original AF2 file I am getting different results! I cannot explain why things differ but now when I run MakeRwys.exe it reaches the layer concerned and crashes without completing. It thus creates an incomplete runways.txt file but not a F5.csv at all.

I have no idea why things are happening differently but I have run it three times now and the same has happened every time. Anyway. hopefully the truncated runways.txt file will give a pointer.

Best regards,

John

 

 

[Pete Dowson]

4 hours ago, Algernon Lacey said:

I have now emailed the runways.txt file too. You should already have the AF2 file - if either haven't reached you let me know and I will find another way of getting them both to you.

Both received, thanks. I'll get to in within the next few days and let you know, here. I'm really really busy right now!

4 hours ago, Algernon Lacey said:

IMPORTANT - in re-creating the situation using the original AF2 file I am getting different results! I cannot explain why things differ but now when I run MakeRwys.exe it reaches the layer concerned and crashes without completing. It thus creates an incomplete runways.txt file but not a F5.csv at all.

Okay. In that case it looks as if something serious different or amiss in that layer which is causing memory corruption in MakeRwys. That can change depending on previous memory contents.

I assume the scenery it deals with displays okay in the sim? I'll need to at least protect MakeRwys from whatever is different or wrong -- I don't like crashing, for sure.

Pete

 

[Algernon Lacey]

15 minutes ago, Pete Dowson said:

I assume the scenery it deals with displays okay in the sim? I'll need to at least protect MakeRwys from whatever is different or wrong -- I don't like crashing, for sure.

Yes, it loads and displays fine in FS2004.

Absolutely no rush to resolve as far as I am concerned - I have worked around by correcting the comms channel and names in the AF2 file.

John

[Pete Dowson]

Sorting it out today. Looks easy. This is the result I got in the Log (Runways.txt):

          COM: Type=6 (TOWER), Freq=128.50, Name="ÀçîâñêàÿÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌ̤Ñ��ÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌ‘luB="
          COM: Type=3 (UNICOM), Freq=22.00, Name="ÐÑÁÍñêàÿÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌ̸Ñ�

and this in the F5.csv:

USCU,0,0,"Uprun"
USCU,3,22.00,,"ÐÑÁÍñêàÿÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌ"
USCU,6,128.50,"ÀçîâñêàÿÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌÌ"

Note that the odd string is actually limited in length for the F5 file, but not for the log which shows what it actually read plus what was in the PC memory following it

What is happening is due to the bad COM entry, with a non-ASCII string which is not properly terminated by a zero. So the string in memory effectively carres on until a zero is seen. If this is within the bounds of what is allowed (maybe 256 characters), no crash, else it might crash by overwriting something it shouldn't when moved for printing / writing to file.

All I need to do, as I should have in the first place, is put a zero terminator in myself when the limit is reached. That will stop the crash, but it won't stop the weird strings -- like the one you got before you got the crash instead. I'm afraid that can only be fixed in the BGL.

The frequency of 22 is wrong in any case, so I reckon you really do have a corrupted file there. You said the odd characters were supposed to be Cyrillic. Do they show up intelligibly anywhere?

Pete

 

[Pete Dowson]

In the end it wasn't quite what I thought. The program checks for only ASCII alphanumeric characters, and removes invalid characters from the end backwards. Unfortunately my stupid mistake was not stopping once they were none left, so the count (size) became negative with bad bad results! Really it should have crashed every time.

The fixed version is up. You would now get no names for those two COM stations.

Pete

 

[Algernon Lacey]

Hi Pete,

I'm glad it didn't present too much hassle to track down.

I have my suspicions that the file was not created with AFCAD, AFX etc because if it was I don't think it would have been possible to enter a channel of 22.0. So maybe the developer was modifying the basic code of the BGL - whether that is possible I don't know but I can't see any other way to have achieved that.

The scenery almost certainly came from a Russian web site (avsim.su) and is of a Russian location. I have seen kind of gobbledygook in readme files for Russian sceneries before and of course in spam email from Russian sources so I suspect it is generated by keyboards set for the Cyrillic Russian alphabet which of course contains 33 characters, most of which are different to those we are familiar with.

Best regards,

John

PS - while writing this you have posted about the latest version - many thanks indeed for that!