Thorsten/POV-Ray team:

I was reading Alan Kong's bug reporting guidelines in the FAQ section
and he says to first post a description of any problem encountered in
the povray.general group. Do you want us to do that for Macintosh
release 3.5.1 build 187? I thought I saw several postings in *this*
group for the earlier 3.5.1 Mac-specific release candidate builds.

thanks...

In article <3fba9c2d$1@news.povray.org>, Thorsten Froehlich
<tho### [at] trfde> wrote:

> In article <3f9d83d1$1@news.povray.org> , "Scott Gammans" 
> <dee### [at] yahoocom> wrote:
> 
> > Can someone please update the Mac OS X 10.2 download page with an ETA for
> > Release Candidate 3?
> >
> > http://mac.povray.org/download/macosx102.html
> >
> > (Please note that I did *not* ask when RC3 would be coming out... I just was
> > asking if someone on the POV-Ray team would mind updating the download page,
> > since it's obviously out-of-date now.)
> 
> A new beta is there now.
> 
>     Thorsten
> 
> ____________________________________________________
> Thorsten Froehlich, Duisburg, Germany
> e-mail: tho### [at] trfde
> 
> Visit POV-Ray on the web: http://mac.povray.org

-- 
Scott Gammans
Washington, DC

Post a reply to this message

Thorsten,

I am running into some interesting problems with running the benchmark. I
did as you said and tried opening the benchmark.pov file directly and put

benchmark.ini

on the command line. When I tried to render the file, I got the following
parser errors:

Possible Scene File Parser Initialization Error: Could not find file
'OBJECT.POV'
Scene File Parser Initialization Error: Cannot open input file.

There is no object.pov file on my workstation... but there is also no
benchmark.ini file either. Is that right?

Anyway, I removed the benchmark.ini entry and tried rendering again.
Success! Of course, POV-Ray used the default entries for rendering a file,
so the results weren't worth posting (for example, the preview window was
displayed, and from what I understand that slows things down a bit). So, I
tried to select the "Render Benchmark" command from the menu. It worked!
And, I assume, it used the correct settings for running a benchmark (e.g.,
the preview window didn't show itself this time around).

Now *here* is the interesting part: The benchmark will only run if you
select one of the first two rendering engine options ("Official POV-Ray
3.51" or "Official POV-Ray 3.51 for G4"). If you select "Official POV-Ray
3.51 for G5", it doesn't matter whether you try to render benchmark.pov
directly or select "Render Benchmark" from the menu... either way, you get
the following error during parsing:

Parse Error: Internal error - code size difference for 15 03c4!
File benchmark.pov line 615

And here is where things *really* start to go all wacko: Since the rendering
engine setting seemed to be the tripwire, I wondered whether turning off
some of the performance options might fix things. I did some trial and
error, and determined that the "Internal error" error only occurs on the G5
engine when the "Fast Functions" performance option is checked. Any
combination of the other three checkboxes can be checked or unchecked and
the G5 engine will run the benchmark just fine, but if "Fast Functions" is
checked, the "Internal error - code size difference" error occurs.

My system specs:

Macintosh PowerMac G5
Dual CPU 2.0 GHz
2.5 GB DRAM
POV-Ray 3.51 build 0187 (RC3)
Panther OS X (10.3 -- **not** 10.3.1... I will be installing 10.3.1 later
tonight and will report whether that makes any difference)

Thorsten Froehlich wrote:

>Note that it seems the built-in benchmark rendering occasionally ignores its
>INI file and renders only at default size.  Locate the benchmark.pov file in
>the :scenes:advanced: folder and specify its INI file on the command-line by
>simply putting "benchmark.ini" (without the quotes) there to work around
>this.  I would recommend to do all tests with background rendering on.
>Background rendering is a term most users seem to understand better than
>"pre-emptive threading"...
>
>    Thorsten

Post a reply to this message

Thorsten,

Installing OS X 10.3.1 did not solve the "Internal Error" problem when
attempting to render the benchmark using the G5 engine. If the "Fast
Functions" performance option is checked and the G5 rendering engine is
selected, the error still occurs, even with the O/S update.

Thorsten Froehlich wrote:
>In article <3fbbf9c3$1[at]news.povray.org> , "Scott Gammans"
><dee### [at] yahoocom> wrote:
>
>> Then I shall run the benchmarks tonight for all three of the operating modes
>> and post my results!
>
>Note that it seems the built-in benchmark rendering occasionally ignores its
>INI file and renders only at default size.  Locate the benchmark.pov file in
>the :scenes:advanced: folder and specify its INI file on the command-line by
>simply putting "benchmark.ini" (without the quotes) there to work around
>this.  I would recommend to do all tests with background rendering on.
>Background rendering is a term most users seem to understand better than
>"pre-emptive threading"...
>
>    Thorsten
>
>____________________________________________________
>Thorsten Froehlich, Duisburg, Germany
>e-mail: tho### [at] trfde
>
>Visit POV-Ray on the web: http://mac.povray.org
>

Post a reply to this message

In article <191120031940284130%ema### [at] scottgammanscom> , Scott Gammans 
<ema### [at] scottgammanscom>  wrote:

> I was reading Alan Kong's bug reporting guidelines in the FAQ section
> and he says to first post a description of any problem encountered in
> the povray.general group. Do you want us to do that for Macintosh
> release 3.5.1 build 187? I thought I saw several postings in *this*
> group for the earlier 3.5.1 Mac-specific release candidate builds.

It is a Mac-only beta, so posting in this group would be most appropriate.
The posts should definitely not go to p.bugreports because that is for final
versions only.  I expect we will open the beta testing groups again once
betas for all platforms exist (I can't tell you when/if this will happen),
and when this happens, those groups would be the most appropriate place for
all beta bug reports.  So, in the meantime, post here.

    Thorsten

____________________________________________________
Thorsten Froehlich, Duisburg, Germany
e-mail: tho### [at] trfde

Visit POV-Ray on the web: http://mac.povray.org

Post a reply to this message

In article <web.3fbc1b9dc8c449e1cbec1f9c0@news.povray.org> , "Scott Gammans"
<deepgloathatesspamaatyahoodotcom> wrote:

> I am running into some interesting problems with running the benchmark. I
> did as you said and tried opening the benchmark.pov file directly and put
>
> benchmark.ini
>
> on the command line. When I tried to render the file, I got the following
> parser errors:
>
> Possible Scene File Parser Initialization Error: Could not find file
> 'OBJECT.POV'
> Scene File Parser Initialization Error: Cannot open input file.

Ups, yes, that isn't included there in the standard distribution, I only had
it in my local copy for tests...

You can either use the command-line "-w384 -h384 +a0.3 +v -d -f -x"
suggested in the benchmark scene file's comments, or you render the built-in
benchmark file once and extract the benchmark scene/INI file from the
temporary directory.  This is what I recommend to do as it will make sure no
Mac dialog default settings interfere:

1. Render the built-in benchmark once.
2. In the message window, locate the render options section. It shows where
   the scene file is located.
3. If the file was for example
     MyDisk:private:tmp:501:TemporaryItems:benchmark.pov
   copy and paste this message into some window and edit it so it looks like
     /volumes/MyDisk/private/tmp/501/TemporaryItems/
   then you can in the Finder go to the directory directly using the "Go to
   Folder..." function in the "Go" menu.
4. Open this benchmark.pov file in POV-Ray and specify the benchmark.ini on
   the command line.
5. Render the benchmark.

Alternatively, you can of course just copy the benchmark.ini file from the
above folder to your :scenes:advanced: folder.

> There is no object.pov file on my workstation... but there is also no
> benchmark.ini file either. Is that right?

object.pov is the default name POV-Ray assumes if no file was specified.  It
is a follow-up error to the missing ini file.

> Now *here* is the interesting part: The benchmark will only run if you
> select one of the first two rendering engine options ("Official POV-Ray
> 3.51" or "Official POV-Ray 3.51 for G4"). If you select "Official POV-Ray
> 3.51 for G5", it doesn't matter whether you try to render benchmark.pov
> directly or select "Render Benchmark" from the menu... either way, you get
> the following error during parsing:
>
> Parse Error: Internal error - code size difference for 15 03c4!
> File benchmark.pov line 615

Argh, yes, that is an internal error in the just-in-time compiler.  It will
insert the hardware square-root function but assumes the software
square-root function is used in the validation stage (only the G5 has a
hardware square-root function).

    Thorsten

____________________________________________________
Thorsten Froehlich, Duisburg, Germany
e-mail: tho### [at] trfde

Visit POV-Ray on the web: http://mac.povray.org

Post a reply to this message

Thorsten Froehlich wrote:
>It is a Mac-only beta, so posting in this group would be most appropriate.
>The posts should definitely not go to p.bugreports because that is for final
>versions only.  I expect we will open the beta testing groups again once
>betas for all platforms exist (I can't tell you when/if this will happen),
>and when this happens, those groups would be the most appropriate place for
>all beta bug reports.  So, in the meantime, post here.
>
>    Thorsten

Understood; thanks.

I have two possible bugs I would like to report for independent
confirmation, in descending order of seriousness:

(1) The "Fast Functions" G5 rendering engine problem that I described in
detail elsewhere in this thread. To summarize, if you select the "Fast
Functions" performance option when the G5-specific rendering engine is
selected, any attempt to render the benchmark results in the following
error during scene parsing:

Parse Error: Internal error - code size difference for 15 03c4!
File benchmark.pov line 615

(2) Occasionally when you start POV-Ray, a dialog box pops up stating that
"this beta version of POV-Ray has expired". Oddly enough, nothing prevents
you from continuing to work inside POV-Ray. This usually occurs only once
when you start POV-Ray after booting up OS X, but on at least one or two
occasions I noticed the expiration dialog after restarting POV-Ray a couple
of times.

thanks.

Post a reply to this message

Erp, never mind about the benchmark.ini question... I found the INI file on
POV-Ray's website and downloaded it. Its presence still had no effect on
the "Fast Functions" issue (it still occurs), but the other issue went
away. (RTFM, I know... I know!)

Scott Gammans wrote:
>I am running into some interesting problems with running the benchmark. I
>did as you said and tried opening the benchmark.pov file directly and put
>
>benchmark.ini
>
>on the command line. When I tried to render the file, I got the following
>parser errors:
>
>Possible Scene File Parser Initialization Error: Could not find file
>'OBJECT.POV'
>Scene File Parser Initialization Error: Cannot open input file.
>
>There is no object.pov file on my workstation... but there is also no
>benchmark.ini file either. Is that right?

Post a reply to this message

Aha... that would explain both of the issues. Thanks.

Thorsten Froehlich wrote:
>In article <web.3fbc1b9dc8c449e1cbec1f9c0[at]news.povray.org> , "Scott Gammans"
><deepgloathatesspamaatyahoodotcom> wrote:
>
>> I am running into some interesting problems with running the benchmark. I
>> did as you said and tried opening the benchmark.pov file directly and put
>>
>> benchmark.ini
>>
>> on the command line. When I tried to render the file, I got the following
>> parser errors:
>>
>> Possible Scene File Parser Initialization Error: Could not find file
>> 'OBJECT.POV'
>> Scene File Parser Initialization Error: Cannot open input file.
>
>Ups, yes, that isn't included there in the standard distribution, I only had
>it in my local copy for tests...
>
>You can either use the command-line "-w384 -h384 +a0.3 +v -d -f -x"
>suggested in the benchmark scene file's comments, or you render the built-in
>benchmark file once and extract the benchmark scene/INI file from the
>temporary directory.  This is what I recommend to do as it will make sure no
>Mac dialog default settings interfere:
>
>1. Render the built-in benchmark once.
>2. In the message window, locate the render options section. It shows where
>   the scene file is located.
>3. If the file was for example
>     MyDisk:private:tmp:501:TemporaryItems:benchmark.pov
>   copy and paste this message into some window and edit it so it looks like
>     /volumes/MyDisk/private/tmp/501/TemporaryItems/
>   then you can in the Finder go to the directory directly using the "Go to
>   Folder..." function in the "Go" menu.
>4. Open this benchmark.pov file in POV-Ray and specify the benchmark.ini on
>   the command line.
>5. Render the benchmark.
>
>Alternatively, you can of course just copy the benchmark.ini file from the
>above folder to your :scenes:advanced: folder.
>
>> There is no object.pov file on my workstation... but there is also no
>> benchmark.ini file either. Is that right?
>
>object.pov is the default name POV-Ray assumes if no file was specified.  It
>is a follow-up error to the missing ini file.
>
>> Now *here* is the interesting part: The benchmark will only run if you
>> select one of the first two rendering engine options ("Official POV-Ray
>> 3.51" or "Official POV-Ray 3.51 for G4"). If you select "Official POV-Ray
>> 3.51 for G5", it doesn't matter whether you try to render benchmark.pov
>> directly or select "Render Benchmark" from the menu... either way, you get
>> the following error during parsing:
>>
>> Parse Error: Internal error - code size difference for 15 03c4!
>> File benchmark.pov line 615
>
>Argh, yes, that is an internal error in the just-in-time compiler.  It will
>insert the hardware square-root function but assumes the software
>square-root function is used in the validation stage (only the G5 has a
>hardware square-root function).
>
>    Thorsten
>
>____________________________________________________
>Thorsten Froehlich, Duisburg, Germany
>e-mail: tho### [at] trfde
>
>Visit POV-Ray on the web: http://mac.povray.org
>

Post a reply to this message

As I said above, please ignore the "Fast Functions" bug report; you already
know about that one. The issue with the beta expiration dialog is more of an
annoyance than a problem; since it's an issue peculiar to beta versions of
POV-Ray and since POV-Ray still works, it doesn't seem worth wasting time on
fixing this one (I only mentioned it because I was already reporting the
"Fast Functions" issue).

thanks...

"Scott Gammans" <deepgloathatesspamaatyahoodotcom> wrote in message
news:web.3fbcb9d6c8c449e1cbec1f9c0@news.povray.org...
> Thorsten Froehlich wrote:
> >It is a Mac-only beta, so posting in this group would be most
appropriate.
> >The posts should definitely not go to p.bugreports because that is for
final
> >versions only.  I expect we will open the beta testing groups again once
> >betas for all platforms exist (I can't tell you when/if this will
happen),
> >and when this happens, those groups would be the most appropriate place
for
> >all beta bug reports.  So, in the meantime, post here.
> >
> >    Thorsten
>
> Understood; thanks.
>
> I have two possible bugs I would like to report for independent
> confirmation, in descending order of seriousness:
>
> (1) The "Fast Functions" G5 rendering engine problem that I described in
> detail elsewhere in this thread. To summarize, if you select the "Fast
> Functions" performance option when the G5-specific rendering engine is
> selected, any attempt to render the benchmark results in the following
> error during scene parsing:
>
> Parse Error: Internal error - code size difference for 15 03c4!
> File benchmark.pov line 615
>
> (2) Occasionally when you start POV-Ray, a dialog box pops up stating that
> "this beta version of POV-Ray has expired". Oddly enough, nothing prevents
> you from continuing to work inside POV-Ray. This usually occurs only once
> when you start POV-Ray after booting up OS X, but on at least one or two
> occasions I noticed the expiration dialog after restarting POV-Ray a
couple
> of times.
>
> thanks.
>

Post a reply to this message

Hi.

I also have a G5 mac running X 10.2.? and I haven't seen any message
about the expired beta.

Although I have some troubles with image maps. It seems that the sys
option for pic images doesn't work. Converting to jpg works.

Neither could I render images with system fonts, but fonts on included
paths worked well.

Best regards, Alberto.

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