Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!usc!csun!srhqla!tcm
From: tcm@srhqla.SR.COM (Tim Meighan)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Need some help with a Clipper problem
Message-ID: <1103@srhqla.SR.COM>
Date: 11 Jul 89 22:52:22 GMT
Reply-To: tcm@srhqla.UUCP (Tim Meighan)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Silent Radio, Los Angeles
Lines: 31

In article <12513@netnews.upenn.edu> parnes@eniac.seas.upenn.edu.UUCP
(Gary Parnes) writes:

>I've been having trouble with a certain Clipper program.  It seems that
>some people have been complaining that my program generates a corrupted
>index file error.

What revision of Clipper are you using?  The earlier releases had bugs in
the compilier that could cause this peculiarity on a seemingly random basis.
It would be hard to reproduce; you'd have to use the program for a while
and get lucky (if that's what you'd call it) to see the corruption occur.

The way I used to fix this was to rebuild the indexes a lot.  It seemed to
make the problem go away.  Of course, I'm talking about the Clipper of three
or four years ago, so that probably isn't it, but I thought I should mention
it just in case.

I haven't used Clipper since early 1986.  I was one of the first people to
buy Clipper when it came out in 1985, and it was REALLY fun to use then.
When they finally got all the bugs cleared up a year later, they wanted me
to pay around $150 to receive a functioning copy.  I had paid almost $700
for the original package, which was so buggy you crossed your fingers every
time you compiled, and had a manual that seemed to actually reduce your
knowledge of programming.

Needless to say, I declined their generous offer.

Tim Meighan
Silent Radio

"I've got one, two, three, four, five . . . flat files working overtime!"