croco-puzzle

Mephisto · Post by **Mephisto** » Tue 15 Nov, 2011 4:35 pm

a) Are there any error messages on the Java console? You can activate the Java console in the Control Panel -> Java

b) Delete the Java cache (Control Panel -> Java)

c) Check the network settings (Control Panel -> Java) [the CorcoPuzzle applet is actually a loader which downloads some stuff fron the server) ]

d) Activate debugging (Control Panel -> Java). What happens on the Java console?

Post by **PuzzleScot** » Tue 15 Nov, 2011 8:36 pm

a) no.
b) did last night, and again just now. no effect. Both via java console and firefox.
c) "use browser settings" - seems correct.
d) setting to level 5, I get a very normal looking:
basic: Added progress listener: sun.plugin.util.GrayBoxPainter$GrayBoxProgressListener@b6e39f
basic: Applet loaded.
basic: Applet resized and added to parent container
basic: PERF: AppletExecutionRunnable - applet.init() BEGIN ; jvmLaunch dt 558427 us, pluginInit dt 427171310 us, TotalTime: 427729737 us
basic: Applet initialized
basic: Removed progress listener: sun.plugin.util.GrayBoxPainter$GrayBoxProgressListener@b6e39f
basic: Applet made visible
basic: Starting applet
basic: completed perf rollup
basic: Applet started
basic: Told clients applet is started

The applets on PuzzlePicnic and Janko.at are working fine. Just croco

Mephisto · Post by **Mephisto** » Tue 15 Nov, 2011 8:59 pm

Did you activate trace and logging in Control Panel -> Java? Setting trace level to 5 in the Java console window is not sufficient. This is my debug information (shortened):

security: property package.access value sun.,com.sun.xml.internal.ws.,com.sun.xml.internal.bind.,com.sun.imageio.
security: property package.access new value sun.,com.sun.xml.internal.ws.,com.sun.xml.internal.bind.,com.sun.imageio.,com.sun.javaws
[...]
network: Cache-Eintrag nicht gefunden [url: http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/, Version: null]
network: Cache-Eintrag gefunden [url: http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/puz ... plet.class, Version: null] prevalidated=false/0
network: Verbindung von http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/puz ... plet.class mit Proxy=DIRECT wird hergestellt
network: Verbindung von http://www.croco-puzzle.com:80/ mit Proxy=DIRECT wird hergestellt
network: ResponseCode für http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/puz ... plet.class: 304
network: Codierung für http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/puz ... plet.class: null
network: Verbindung mit http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/puz ... plet.class trennen
network: Cache-Eintrag nicht gefunden [url: http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/, Version: null]
basic: Applet geladen
basic: Applet resized and added to parent container
basic: PERF: AppletExecutionRunnable - applet.init() BEGIN ; jvmLaunch dt 2441979 us, pluginInit dt 2214755 us, TotalTime: 4656734 us
basic: Applet initialized
basic: Fortschritts-Listener entfernt: sun.plugin.util.GrayBoxPainter$GrayBoxProgressListener@19616c7
basic: Applet made visible
basic: Starting applet
basic: completed perf rollup
basic: Applet started
basic: Told clients applet is started
network: Cache-Eintrag gefunden [url: http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/puzzle/c.class, Version: null] prevalidated=false/0
network: Verbindung von http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/puzzle/c.class mit Proxy=DIRECT wird hergestellt
network: ResponseCode für http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/puzzle/c.class: 304
network: Codierung für http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/puzzle/c.class: null
network: Verbindung mit http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/puzzle/c.class trennen
network: Cache-Eintrag gefunden [url: http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/puzzle/f.class, Version: null] prevalidated=false/0
[...]

Post by **PuzzleScot** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 12:00 am

I couldn't find the settings to produce that, but turned on anyway to max debug.

I think I've found the problem, and a work-around. When I run it now, the applet says "Java Security warning: The application requires an earlier version of Jave. Do you want to continue?" followed by "The required version of Jave, 1.6.0_20, is not the latest and may not contain the latest security updates". Saying yes produced the information you described above in the debug window...

So there you have it. It's working for me now, but I suspect others will have problems over the next days/weeks. (if they install Java update 29)

Thanks for the help though. Much appreciated.

[Edit: Doing this makes it work in IE, but after the message, it still doesn't load in FF, with only 'basic: ' info in the debug. I will try uninstalling Update 29, but suspect it may be required for FF8.0]

Mephisto · Post by **Mephisto** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 8:12 am

Debug settings: Control Panel -> Java -> rightmost tab (not sure what the caption in English is) -> first branch of the tree (maybe "Debug")

In general, you are not the first who has this problem. Unfortunately, it seems that there is no clear answer how to solve this problem. One promising suggestion I found is:

"It seems to be a general JRE installation issue. It is a configuration problem. After JRE was updated, settings have not been refreshed in the browser. Uninstalling all previous Java, then install the latest one solves the problem. "

Another suggestion you can find on the Web is to poke some configuration files, but I could not even find these files on my computer.

Do you have several different versions of JRE installed simultaneously? Try to disable all but one in Control Panel. Disable the update service in Control Panel.

The strange thing is that this error occurs only on Croco, not on Puzzle Picnic or Janko. I found some hints that the problem may be related to Marvin or Java Web Forms, but no-one could confirm this. Only Berni might know what strange things his applets do.

[One difference between PP/Janko and Croco is that on PP/Janko the code is self-contained, while in Croco additional code is downloaded during runtime -- Berni, is there a reason for that? Putting all code in a single jar file may solve the problem and would also reduce the applet size by at least 50%.]

berni · Post by **berni** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 12:58 pm

Well, I don't have any clues yet. Since Oracle took over Sun, java seems to get worse and worse... Unfortunately I can't see any useful alternative to java (javascript and flash are out of question), leaving aside, that it would be an enormous amount of work to move...

Mephisto wrote:[One difference between PP/Janko and Croco is that on PP/Janko the code is self-contained, while in Croco additional code is downloaded during runtime -- Berni, is there a reason for that? Putting all code in a single jar file may solve the problem and would also reduce the applet size by at least 50%.]

This is something I could try. The reason, I don't use jar-files is, that I don't like them. The statement about the reduced size does not hold: Without jar file about 75-90 KB have to be downloaded, depending on the puzzletype. The jar-file is more than 220KB (because it contains everything, also the stuff you don't need).

berni · Post by **berni** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 1:44 pm

Calavera wrote:For the technical stuff you have to wait for a reply of berni...

I've had a look at the log files. The main class file is downloaded (twice - I can't see why), but it seems, that all the other files are not downloaded. If that file is executed, you should get a blue rectangle with the croco logo in it. After that logo is displayed, the applet tries to download further files, which it either doesn't or it is not successful.

It's hard to find out, what the reason might be. Maybe a firewall, which is blocking the download of further software. If your are using croco-puzzle.de you might try to change to croco-puzzle.com as the applet accesses the last one. There might also be a switch somewhere (plugin/firefox/operating system) that prevents the download of further class files for some security reasons. Your might also try to use the appletviewer (which is part of java) and check, if it produces some useful output.

I'll try to prepare a jar-file tonight. Now im busy with other things, that cannot be delayed.

Post by **PuzzleScot** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 2:12 pm

I got a full debug trace. Cleared all applets/logs and set trace to 5. restarted FF8, went to croco-puzzle.com (which I always use, btw) and got this in the debug window (using Update 29). Hopefully something in there is of use.. on pastebin

berni · Post by **berni** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 2:28 pm

PuzzleScot wrote:I got a full debug trace. Cleared all applets/logs and set trace to 5. restarted FF8, went to croco-puzzle.com (which I always use, btw) and got this in the debug window (using Update 29). Hopefully something in there is of use.. on pastebin

Hmm. I can't find any useful in there, maybe mephisto does?

By the way: You should go to croco-puzzle site and logout and in again, to invalidate the cookies shown in the trace, because hackers could use this information to login with your nick.

Mephisto · Post by **Mephisto** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 3:27 pm

I can't find stange things too. The only strange line is

network: Cache entry not found [url: http://www.croco-puzzle.com/applets/, version: null]

but this request shows up also in my trace. (Who tries to access a directory and why?)

The JRE loads the main class file and stops then. This means that the information that triggers the error message is included in the main class file. A guess: On Alan's computer version u29 is installed and on Berni's computer version u20 is installed (or was installed at creation time of the class file). The compile time version of the RTE is stored in the class file and before the RTE is going to download additional classes the error message is triggered. If I'm right the error message should go away if a jar file is used (not sure of this).

The size of an all-in-one jar file is an argument, I agree. On the other hand each class file leads to an additional round-trip, even if the class is in the local cache (see the 304 codes in my trace). In total there are 10~20 additional round-trips. No idea how to weight round-trips vs. applet size...

berni · Post by **berni** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 4:51 pm

Hi Alan,

Could you try out http://www.croco-puzzle.com/Preisraetse ... le=nr11_42

This is a version, that uses a jar file.

Berni

Post by **PuzzleScot** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 5:14 pm

I'm afraid the didn't work out either. Exactly the same.

pastebin
I've now turned off storing temporary files in Java.
(I cannot uninstall Java update 20, as there is no 'uninstall' button against it in Add/Remove programs!)

Unless other people are having similar issues, don't worry about me - I'll use IE for croco if that's the only way.

berni · Post by **berni** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 5:26 pm

Can you try again? I've changed the target java version of the applet to 1.6 and turned some debuginfos on.

Mephisto · Post by **Mephisto** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 5:50 pm

Try this: Control Panel -> Java -> Advanced -> Java Plugin and disable "Next Generation Java Plugin". Does this solve the problem?

Post by **PuzzleScot** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 6:42 pm

Mephisto wrote:Try this: Control Panel -> Java -> Advanced -> Java Plugin and disable "Next Generation Java Plugin". Does this solve the problem?

Done, restarted, and it's still the same. (pastebin, though I see nothing wrong)

btw, the check at http://java.com/en/download/installed.jsp says I have Update 29 installed OK.

Honestly, if no-one else has any issues, forget about this...

berni · Post by **berni** » Wed 16 Nov, 2011 6:54 pm

PuzzleScot wrote:
Mephisto wrote:Try this: Control Panel -> Java -> Advanced -> Java Plugin and disable "Next Generation Java Plugin". Does this solve the problem?
Done, restarted, and it's still the same. (pastebin, though I see nothing wrong)

Well, I think, that does tell us, that the applet is not started at all...

Honestly, if no-one else has any issues, forget about this...

Well, I fear, that sooner or later, someone else will have the same problem again... But we might wait until then.

Post by **detuned** » Mon 21 Nov, 2011 8:43 pm

So Thomas hasn't played yet, but I am quite pleased with today's killer

A lot of big sudoku hitters are below me on that list!

motris · Post by **motris** » Tue 22 Nov, 2011 1:17 am

detuned wrote:So Thomas hasn't played yet, but I am quite pleased with today's killer A lot of big sudoku hitters are below me on that list!

I don't think I'd enjoy taking a 1st place from you enough to merit coming back, even once. I think I've been pretty clear I'm done with croco-puzzle until there is a real resolution of puzzle generator issues. The 9 second pyramides and 16 minute Koralles aren't really drawing my attention.

That being said, congrats on pulling out the win yesterday.

Post by **david mcneill** » Wed 07 Dec, 2011 4:30 am

I am having a go at the Advent calendar whilst abroad (again!). Can someone please explain the exact rules for the Roman numerals puzzle (day 4) as I am getting multiple solutions. Moreover, I am unable to log into the mystery puzzle portal. I can log into crocopuzzle OK but when I follow the link, I am asked to put in my log-in details again. This works fine on my work computer but doesn't work at home or on the laptop I have with me at the moment. Are the German Logic Masters and Crocopuzzle username and password necessarily the same?

Grateful for any help.

David.

berni · Post by **berni** » Thu 08 Dec, 2011 8:55 am

david mcneill wrote:I am having a go at the Advent calendar whilst abroad (again!). Can someone please explain the exact rules for the Roman numerals puzzle (day 4) as I am getting multiple solutions. Moreover, I am unable to log into the mystery puzzle portal. I can log into crocopuzzle OK but when I follow the link, I am asked to put in my log-in details again. This works fine on my work computer but doesn't work at home or on the laptop I have with me at the moment. Are the German Logic Masters and Crocopuzzle username and password necessarily the same?

The last question is the easiest to answer: The logins at LM and CP are completely separated. It might even be, that the same login at one site belongs to someone else at the other side. E.g. there is a Mars at LM which started to solve a lot of puzzles in the Rätselportal at about the time Thomas started at CP. So people thought this is Thomas. But then we found out, that it was a coincidence and Mars at LM is someone else. So in short: You need to register again at LM and preferably use a different password there.

Concerning the rest: Shame on me: I forgot to add the english language description in the Rätselportal. I'll do this soon.

dickoon · Post by **dickoon** » Wed 04 Jan, 2012 10:21 pm

Congratulations to James for being the first UK solver to reach 1 kyu!

Post by **kiwijam** » Thu 05 Jan, 2012 3:58 am

Cheers Chris. I've noticed my results got a small boost once I joined the UK ladder and started competing harder, so thanks to everyone for the extra motivation. Now just give me a couple more months...

Post by **david mcneill** » Thu 05 Jan, 2012 8:52 am

Yes, well done James. Looks like you're destined for a first Dan before long. My "progress" has been painful, forward 2 steps then back 2 steps. Had a complete blank on the recent Filomino. With one area of 4 units still blank, I eliminated the 31, 13 and 4 options, but overlooked the 121 option. Searched for an earlier mistake, couldn't find it, rubbed everything out, came back to the same impasse, and repeated this loop another couple of times. I continue to be fragile on Arukone, Masyu, Bahnhofe amongst others. Only persist in the hope that I will eventually become slightly better at loop-type puzzles in general.

Post by **puzzlemad** » Thu 05 Jan, 2012 6:03 pm

david mcneill wrote: My "progress" has been painful, forward 2 steps then back 2 steps. Had a complete blank on the recent Filomino. With one area of 4 units still blank, I eliminated the 31, 13 and 4 options, but overlooked the 121 option. Searched for an earlier mistake, couldn't find it, rubbed everything out, came back to the same impasse, and repeated this loop another couple of times.

- SNAP

Post by **drsteve** » Sat 07 Jan, 2012 11:27 pm

puzzlemad wrote:
david mcneill wrote: My "progress" has been painful, forward 2 steps then back 2 steps. Had a complete blank on the recent Filomino. With one area of 4 units still blank, I eliminated the 31, 13 and 4 options, but overlooked the 121 option. Searched for an earlier mistake, couldn't find it, rubbed everything out, came back to the same impasse, and repeated this loop another couple of times.
- SNAP

Fascinating - I was a gnat's whisker away from doing the same on this one but spotted it just before I deleted it all - but the cursor was hovering over the button when I spotted it...

UK Puzzle Association

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