Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!uwvax!rutgers!psuvax1!burdvax!sdcrdcf!otto!convex!authorplaceholder
From: jthomp@convex.UUCP
Newsgroups: news.software.notes
Subject: Re: possible locking problem
Message-ID: <84100007@convex>
Date: 27 Mar 88 11:16:00 GMT
References: <219@telesoft.UUCP>
Lines: 137
Nf-ID: #R:telesoft.UUCP:-21900:convex:84100007:000:4421
Nf-From: convex.UUCP!jthomp    Mar 27 05:16:00 1988


/* Written  4:36 pm  Feb 25, 1988 by garym@telesoft.Sun.COM in convex:news.software.notes */
/* ---------- "possible locking problem" ---------- */
>> We have been having occasional problems when two user try to post a response
>> to the same note at the same time.  It appears that the index file gets
>> updated incorrectly as what we end up with is one response where the text is
>> not what the person posted but is random text from some other part of the
>> notesfile. 
>> 
>> We are running notes on a Sun3/150 and it is mounted via nfs (soft r/w) to
>> about 20 other Sun2 and Sun3 machines.  It is very heavily used and we often
>> have 3 or 4 people simulateously reading the same notesfile or responding,
>> usually from different machines (via nfs). 
>> 
>> Has anyone seen this kind of behaviour?  I thought the lock files were
>> supposed to prevent this problem.

While I have yet to see this type of behaviour, I can imagine what
its cause might be.

You're NFS mounting your notes partition all over the world.
Notes has an internal locking mechanism that depends on a creat(2)
being 'unique'.  That is to say, if the file exists, and you call 
ret = creat("foo",0); you may get a successful return (file descriptor)
even though the file existed!  (i.e. you've just blown the lock.)
The solution is to substitute the following code in
'locknf' (in misc.c (notes 1.7)):

changed code follows:  (sorry this is so muddy, but its about 3 am here.)
Note (pun?) that I haven't actually tried this code, but I'm about
to do the same thing here at Convex.  Incidentally, R. Kolstad is my boss.

/*
 * lock creates a lock file, or waits until it can create the lock. lock
 * files are of the form lock#  where # is a character passed to the routine. 
 *
 * Rob Kolstad	10/20/80 modified: rbe December 1981 to add full path name
 * for lock file 
 */

locknf (io, c)
struct io_f *io;
char    c;
{
    register int i, fd, holderr, trys;
/*    char    p[WDLEN];  /* not needed */

    /* not needed for lockf */
    /* sprintf (p, "%s/%s/%c%s", Mstdir, LOCKS, c, io -> nf); */

    trys = LOCKTRY;			/* set him up */

    /*
     * old bad code while ((i = creat (p, 0)) < 0) 
     */
    switch (c) {			/* determine which type of lock we
					 * want */
      case 'DSCRLOCK':
	fd = io->fidrdx;
	break;
      case 'TXTLOCK':
	fd = io->fidtxt;
	break;
      default:
	fprintf (stderr, "unknown lock %c in lockf, bye\n", c);
	exit (BAD);
    }

    /* save the seek pointer for later restoration */
    if ((old_seek_place = lseek (fd, 0, 0)) < 0)
	/* do something particularly bad here, like exit */
	perror ("fatal notes error lseek"), exit (BAD);

    while ((i = lockf (fd, F_TLOCK, 0)) < 0) {
	if (trys-- == 0) {
	    holderr = errno;		/* before it's abused */
	    fprintf (stderr, "lock %c (%s) permanently locked - consult a guru\n",
		     c, io->nf);
	    [there is usually 'nfmaint' code here]
		ttystop ();
	    exit (BAD);			/* jthomp thinks we should recover
					 * from this. */
	}
	sleep (2);			/* guarantee at least 1 */
    }
    (void) lseek (fd, old_seek_place, 0);	/* set the pointer back */
    ignoresigs++;			/* critical section */

    /*
     * could be above getting the lock, but wanted to be able to suspend
     * while getting the lock.  The interuptable window is very small 
     */

    /*
     * old bad code -- can't close the fd, the lock goes away.  --jt close
     * (i); 
     */
}

/*
 * unlock takes the same arguements as the lock routine, and it will remove
 * the corresponding lock file 
 *
 * Rob Kolstad 10/20/80 modified: rbe December 1981 to add full path name for
 * lock name 
 */

unlocknf (io, c)
struct io_f *io;
char    c;
{
    int     fd;				/* for the filedesc */

    /* char    p[WDLEN];  /* not needed */
    switch (c) {			/* determine which type of lock we
					 * want */
      case 'DSCRLOCK':
	fd = io->fidrdx;
	break;
      case 'TXTLOCK':
	fd = io->fidtxt;
	break;
      default:
	fprintf (stderr, "unknown lock %c in lockf, bye\n", c);
	exit (BAD);
    }

    /* sprintf (p, "%s/%s/%c%s", Mstdir, LOCKS, c, io -> nf);  /* unnecessary */
    /* generate file name */
    /* x (unlink (p) < 0, "unlock: unlink lock");	/* old, bad code */
    x (lockf (fd, F_UNLOCK, 0) < 0 "unlock: bad lockf call");
    ignoresigs--;			/* no longer critical */
}

/* End of text from convex:news.software.notes */

/* End of text from convex:news.software.notes */