I tried your test code but it works for me.
It is an odd problem for sure. On a fresh installation I can easily replicate the problem on my laptop. Simply doing a fresh install and then copying the files from my desktop over replacing those files fixes it. I can only guess that the installation package for Inform 7 doesn’t install something properly on the laptop.
I like the Flexible Windows extension very much and am glad I don’t have to think about working on my project without it.
From what I have found through online searches it is a very isolated occurrence, and since I was able to resolve it to my satisfaction, I don’t think anyone else should have to worry about it.
I wish you had found what was wrong, because I’m encountering the same problem.
It’s generating this error in quixe: Quixe init: glk_put_jstring: invalid stream
Are you also seeing the game pane come up blank in the I7 IDE? That’s what this problem was about, not a Quixe error.
Yes, it’s blank in the IDE; and Nutso’s minimal example reproduces the problem.
When I Release and run in Quixe, I get that error I mentioned. I expect them to be related, and the IDE isn’t reporting it for some reason.
I think this is likely to be related to the problem discussed in this thread: [url]IF Archive Hugo Downloads]
There the problem is an error in Flexible Windows. When the game is compiled in debug mode under the front-end, the error should lead to a “Run-time Problem” message. However, the error occurs very early on in the game, before its had a chance to set up any windows, so the game stops with nothing shown at all.
I suspect that the computer on which the game works has Flexible Windows version 12 as an extension, while the one that doesn’t work has version 13. Either drop back to version 12 everywhere, or use the updated version Danii posted in the above linked thread (I’m not sure if Danii’s update has made it to the Inform 7 web site yet).
Same problem using Danni’s updated version.
With version 12, it has the same problem in the IDE. The error in Quixe is different, “Quixe init: gli_set_style: invalid stream”, but it still doesn’t work.
(Apropos of nothing, this is why I don’t like the convention of tagging a forum thread as “[solved]”. The original poster found a workaround but that doesn’t mean the problem is solved for everybody.)
Not only that, but he didn’t stick around long enough for us to figure out why his workaround worked. I’d very much like to compare his version of every extension involved with my own.
For example, Inform7 seems to come with Glulx Entry Points version 9; but only version 6 is available on the website. What version did he have?
Maybe he was reinstalling an older version of Inform7 that did not have this problem?
Could he have overwritten an extension with an older or newer version without realizing it?
Maybe there was a different version of a extension included with Inform 7 sitting in his documents folder, keeping Inform from loading the included version that has the error?
I’d really like to find out since the only other option right now is to dig all the glulx code out of flexible windows and try to get something working the hard way.
I didn’t go anywhere.
The version of Glulx Entry Points that I have is version 9. I haven’t downloaded any version of this at all. I’ve only used the one that was installed by the Inform 7 installer.
Help - About Inform shows: Inform 7 for Windows (2nd March 2012; 6G60)
I stripped down all the code to the minimalist code that I posted earlier in the thread, basically just Flexible Windows (version 13) and Glulx Entry Points (version 9 as stated above). Would an extension that is not called for in the code have an effect and cause the issue I had?
Let me know if I can help with anything else.
Ha - I thought that would get your attention!
The newest version of inform is from April 25th, 2013, AFAIK.
Does anyone know where I can get the older version to test it? Nutso; I’d suggest you get the newer version but you’d probably just break your own stuff again.
I installed a second copy of Inform 7 (the latest one showing the April 2013 version date) and tried compiling the project I am working on. The results were the same as before, with a blank screen after attempting to compile. When I open the same exact project in the March 2012 version of Inform 7 there is no problem and it compiles fine.
I guess there is something in the latest version that is causing the issue. I’ll continue to use the older version for this project since it is working fine for me to this point.
Unfortunately I have a different issue with the older version where, once the game reaches a certain size, it craps out. And by a combination of a hyperlink interface, intelligent hinting, and threaded conversations, the number of objects in the game is really quite amazing.
Seems odd, though. AFAIK the compiler didn’t actually change between those versions. At least, it’s still version 6G60 of inform7. I hope DavidK can track down the problem and shed some light on why it’s also causing an error in Quixe.
If you could compare your two installations of I7, file by file, it might be helpful. If not, could you zip them up and upload them somewhere?
The compiler and built-in extensions should not have changed between 2012 and 2013.
If you know where I can get the march 2012 version, I’ll run a diff on everything.
I meant nutso’s versions, since those are the ones that actually demonstrate the difference.
Okay, found something that I think can help narrow things down.
In the March 2012 version of Inform 7, the glulxe.exe file under Interpreters has a date of 2/25/2012 and is 553 kb in size. The glulxe.exe file from the April 2013 version of inform has a date of 3/28/2013 and is 561 kb in size.
I tested both of these files in both the March 2012 and April 2013 copies of the Inform IDE and the error occurred in both versions when I used the glulxe.exe file dated 3/28/2013. The error did not occur when I used the glulxe.exe file dated 2/25/2012.
It must be related to the latest glulxe.exe interpreter dated 3/28/2013.
If you don’t have at least version 13/130911 of Flexible Windows, you’ll want to download the update from raw.github.com/i7/extensions/ma … indows.i7x
I haven’t sent this update to the extensions site because I’m planning more changes soon, but perhaps I should just do it.
I actually have been using the latest version of Flexible Windows (130925) since you announced it here a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, it does not resolve the issue that I had.
The problem occurs with both versions of the glulxe.exe interpreters with the latest version of Flexible Windows that you linked.
This is not the root of the problem, I think. I have changed the interpreter in the Windows front-end to be stricter about errors in the game: it’s simply that the newer Glulxe.exe is complaining about the fault in the game, while the older one is silently ignoring it.