Fwd: [Visualpython-users] Re: Trouble installing on Debian

I just came across this old email that relates to problems compiling 
VPython for Debian:

>From: "Neal M. Holtz" <nh...@do...>
>To: vis...@li...
>User-Agent: Mutt/1.3.28i
>Subject: [Visualpython-users] Re: Trouble installing on Debian
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>X-Original-Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 07:58:31 -0400
>Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 07:58:31 -0400
>
>A couple of replies with respect to a "segfault" problem on Debian
>(and also on my highly non-standard Caldera) mentioned problems
>with passing const char * pointers.   Those points may be valid,
>but consider the original method causing the problem:
>
>void PythonType::name( const char* nam )
>{
>    table->tp_name = const_cast<char *>( name );
>}
>
>I bet that line should be:
>
>    table->tp_name = const_cast<char *>( nam );
>
>Otherwise, the code is storing a pointer to the method
>and not the string -- a simple typo.
>
>Changing it this way fixes the segfault on my Caldera system.
>
>Cheers, and thanks for making it easy for me to fix
>the problem get VPython to run ..
>
>neal
>
>
>      FROM: Bruce Sherwood
>      DATE: 04/26/2002 06:40:58
>      SUBJECT:  [Visualpython-users] Trouble installing on Debian
>
> >     Here is some nice detective work by Yves Bailly in France. I should
> >     incorporate his change, but in the meantime here is what he found. I'm
> >     puzzled that others running on Debian did not run into this problem.
> >
> >     Bruce Sherwood
> >
> >     --On Friday, April 26, 2002 1:57 AM +0200 Yves BAILLY
> >     <<EMAIL: PROTECTED>> wrote:
> >
> >     > Hello,
> >     >
> >     > First of all, I have to say : contragulation for your great work !
> >     >
> >     > Now, my problem :
> >     > I tried to install VPython on a Debian "sid", using :
> >     > - Python 2.2.1
> >     > - Numeric 21.0
> >     > - GtkGlArea 1.2.3
> >     > - Mesa which comes with XFree86 4.1.0
> >     >
> >     > Everything compiles fine, but when running
> >     > from visual import *
> >     > ...I was always getting a segfault.
> >     >
> >     > I dig a little bit, and found this in 
> cvisual/CXX/Src/cxx_extensions.cxx :
> >     > void PythonType::name( const char* nam )
> >     > {
> >     >        table->tp_name = const_cast<char *>( name );
> >     > }
> >     > The segfault seemed to occure during this method.
> >     >
> >     > Considering the char* is a rather strange thing, that should 
> always be
> >     > used with care, moreover when you give a litteral string to a 
> function,
> >     > I just modified this method a little, to allocate and duplicate the
> >     > string :
> >     > void PythonType::name( const char* nam )
> >     > {
> >     >        char* str = new char[strlen(nam)+1] ;
> >     >        strcpy(str, nam) ;
> >     >        table->tp_name = const_cast<char *>( str );
> >     > }
> >     >
> >     > ...and now it works fine, I can even use the KineticsKit !
> >     >
> >     > Just a quick hack, for sure there should something better (nicer).
> >     >
> >     > Best regards,
> >     >
> >     > --
> >     > ( | Yves Bailly  : http://kafka-fr.net   | -
> >     > //\ | Linux Dijon  : http://www.coagul.org | //\
> >     > \_/ | Don d'organe : http://adot21.free.fr | \_/`
> >
>
>--
>Neal Holtz                             http://www.docuweb.ca/~nholtz
>Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering,   Carleton University,
>Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5B6.                   nh...@do...
>
>
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