Error Handling Errors

I fixed a problem today where custom blog software had stopped working after a permissions update. A large number of sites are based upon the blog software and they were all down. Blank page. No errors on screen or in the logs.

This was not software and I came in knowing nothing about it. It might've helped that I do know the developer, but he was offline and unreachable, and no longer with the company for which the software was created. Panic was setting in with customer service.

It's really frustrating when error reporting is turned completely off and no other error handling has been implemented. I knew the problem must be permissions related but there was just no clue as to what file was failing to write. I also knew the application was Zend Framework, which I've been working with for about a year or so. A quick change to the application.ini ...

phpSettings.display_errors = 1

phpSettings.error_reporting = 1

... and I was to see the error and correct the permissions.

This brings to mind: The Log File is Your Friend. Frameworks or applications that implement their own error handling need to also find a way of silently indicating the problem. In this case, it could be done in a custom manner using Zend_Log or by adding log_errors to the php.ini file or to application.ini, like so:

phpSettings.error_reporting = 1024

phpSettings.log_errors = 1

Xcode Compile Stops at MainWindow.xib?

And Interface Builder starts up in the background but then stops responding? Have you recently changed your OS? Bought a nice, refurb iMac running Snow Leopard and transferred Xcode from an older machine running Leopard?

Me too.

It took me a long time to find the answer.

You need to get the iPhone SDK for Snow Leopard. Oh, and incidentally, there is a hint on the Apple Developer site (behind the login) because there are "Snow Leopard Downloads". Obviously I don't log in there every day, either.

Just Submitted Been There Again

I'm happy to report I've re-submitted Been There, our iPhone app for sharing your favorite places with friends and family. Here's hoping for the best!

Been There Again

My last post on our iPhone app was dismal indeed, but the "friend of a friend" approach has paid off sooner than expected and I now have a repaired version of the app! Now if I can just get this sign cert figured out ...

Been There Left in the Lurch

Our Been There iPhone application got caught up in the OS changes where some network issue causes a crash. Nevermind that I can't make it crash, but someone at Apple did and reject the submission. The original developer wanted me to pay quite a bit more money to fix the issue and needless to say that didn't sit too well with me, so I asked around and found a friend of a friend that agreed to help out.

I'm hoping to find and fix the bug and resubmit the app this month. We'll see.

Bogeymin Again

Wow, it's been a long time since I gave an update on this project -- because it's been a long time since I've actually worked on it. Yes, everything I didn't want to happen with this project happened and it got pushed to the side. However, in an attempt to redeem myself, I have rescheduled the remaining work for January.

Sign up to be notified when it's ready at bogeymin.com