Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!helios!inetg1!dprrhb
From: dprrhb@inetg1.ARCO.COM (Reginald H. Beardsley)
Newsgroups: comp.os.coherent
Subject: compiler bug
Message-ID: <1991Apr25.183957.11195@Arco.COM>
Date: 25 Apr 91 18:39:57 GMT
Sender: dprrhb@inetg1 (Reginald H. Beardsley)
Organization: ARCO Oil & Gas Company
Lines: 34


  I installed a friend's copy of Coherent on a Compaq LTE/286 for a week or so last summer. (He didn't have disk space on his machine so we borrowed one from
work) I think this was 3.0 as he said that he later got an update from MWC.
In the process of noodling around with it I wrote the following program:

#define SIZE ?????

int main()
   {
      char buffer[SIZE];
      int i;

      for( i=0; i<SIZE; i++ ){
          buffer[i]=(char)i/256;
      }
    }

The intent of the program was to test the protected mode operation and the 
limits on the array sizes.  I varied the array size from small to 64k; 
Above  3-4K I got very peculiar behavior.  The machine would do a hard reset
(cntrl-alt-del) when I ran the program.  No core dump, no file sync, just reset.  I uninstalled Coherent and returned the machine.  When Minix 1.5 came
out from PH, I bought a copy and borrowed the machine again. Very happy with
Minix.  Now if I can just hang on to the machine.....

Does anyone running Coherent have any thoughts on this?  Was it the machine 
or the software?  NB: If you try running the program make sure you sync before 
you execute it, saves a lot of trouble for fsck.  If you e-mail to me I will 
summarize for the group.  
-- 
Reginald H. Beardsley       
ARCO Information Services
Plano, TX 75075           
Phone: (214)-754-6785
Internet: dprrhb@arco.com