I was wondering if I am the only person to find NetSurf (v3.6 & possibly v3.x in general) to be horribly unstable. Since I'm now disabling JavaScript for most websites in Odyssey (to make it stable), the only thing really stopping me from using NetSurf is the instability.
I don't recall NetSurf used to be unstable, at least for v2.x . So I think it's v3.6 (or possibly earlier) where it became unstable for me.
Typically it crashes (often bringing down the whole OS) when I exit NetSurf, although it can sometimes happen while I am just browsing. (e.g. I tried to visit the NetSurf feature request page on SourceForge, and the whole OS froze. Mostly it just seems to crash NetSurf though.)
Anyone else having this problem, or is it just me?
Edited by ChrisH on 2016/8/5 12:30:58 Edited by ChrisH on 2016/8/13 14:32:24
Well you're right and you're not. If you use an unstable build it may introduce something that doesn't play well with a commodoty or something like I experienced in the past which then got fixed or improved. For what I can see I can divide Netsurf issues to two categories: 1. Interacting with/effected by other elements from other uses. 2. Severe slowdowns which can bring everthing to a halt.
Then you got something like Candy and such that belongs to both.
@ChrisH I tried your link and Netsurf freezes and slows down my entire system, requiring a reboot. I tried going to the main Netsurf page at Sourceforge and that causes Netsurf to freeze too. However, I'm not even sure Netsurf is hosted at Sourceforge anymore. When I looked at the Netsurf main page at Sourceforge with Odyssey, the most recent change is listed as 2013. When Chris Young asked me to file a bug report some time ago, he sent me to http://www.netsurf-browser.org and not the Netsurf Sourceforge project.
It's quite ironic that the Sourceforge Netsurf project page doesn't work with Netsurf
Amiga X1000 with 2GB memory & OS 4.1FE + Radeon HD 5450
When Chris Young asked me to file a bug report some time ago, he sent me to http://www.netsurf-browser.org and not the Netsurf Sourceforge project.
You could be right. I could not remember where to put feature requests, but had that SourceForge page bookmarked. I wasn't sure if I'd put in a feature request for a password manager (I think I had but not sure).
But... I can't find anywhere to request features on the site you mentioned. Bug reporting yes, feature requests no :(
Bug reports and feature requests need to be made at http://bugs.netsurf-browser.org (there is a severity of "feature" for requests) - the Sourceforge bugs page hasn't been used for years, and the fact it doesn't work properly on NetSurf was one of the reasons for moving it off . I've not known it to crash on that page, but then I've not had cause to visit a dead bug database!
It shouldn't be unstable. It would be useful to know when this started happening, try the previous release version and see if that has the same problem, if not try and narrow it down to a CI build number.
There is a known issue that if you haven't used the install script, it may crash when visiting certain websites. However it should work OK on the next launch.
I don't know of any "crash on exit" bugs that are still occurring.
(e.g. I tried to visit the NetSurf feature request page on SourceForge, and the whole OS froze. Mostly it just seems to crash NetSurf though.)
When I visit with Javascript disabled it appears to be OK (note that it redirects to a sf.net login page). With Javascript enabled NetSurf hangs on "fetching, processing". It doesn't crash but has definitely got stuck doing something.
If it is crashing for you then the crashlog would be useful as it might help track down the problem. It works correctly on GTK so seems to be an Amiga-specific issue.
@Chris Unfortunately I get a Netsurf freeze when I try to access any Sourceforge project page. The status says "loading" and the 'sleep' pointer is displayed. My entire system operates in slow motion. For example, I tried this link with and without javascript enabled: http://sourceforge.net/projects/dopus5allamigas/?source=directory
After Netsurf froze, I tried to go to the same page with Odyssey (while Netsurf was still running) and Odyssey froze. Strange.
Amiga X1000 with 2GB memory & OS 4.1FE + Radeon HD 5450
That page is working fine here. Can you track it down to a specific build where it stopped working?
Sorry it took so long to get back to you but rebooting/installing older builds repeatedly took some time. The only netsurf archive I installed that doesn't cause the freeze is version 3.2. Versions 3.3, 3.4, 3.5 all cause the freeze. I also tested by booting from an OS4.1update6 partition but still got netsurf freezes. However, only netsurf froze with update6 and the rest of my system was slightly slower but usable. Update6 was always more stable for me.
I'll try booting from my OS4.1FE CD later to see if netsurf still freezes. EDIT: Tested Netsurf after booting from my OS4.1FE CD and it still freezes when I try to access project pages at Sourceforge. Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
Edited by xenic on 2016/8/7 20:27:21
Amiga X1000 with 2GB memory & OS 4.1FE + Radeon HD 5450
* Rewrote html mouse pointer handling to reduce stack usage.
* Improved portability of the curl binding.
* Fixed relative URLs in inline CSS to resolve with respect to base URL.
* Improved debug box tree dump.
* Fixed textarea rendering glitches.
* Fixed textarea scrollbar behaviour.
* Removed support for all SSL versions due to vulnerabilities.
* Protect against inappropriate encryption protocol downgrades.
* Many changes to sanitise interface between core and front ends.
* Front ends can use their own main loop instead of polling core.
* Fixed bad background image URLs causing page load to abort.
* Improved buildsystem handling of warning flags.
* Improved HTML form handling.
* Improved the disc cache.
* Improved the hotlist/bookmarks loading and saving.
* Improved error handling.
* Added copy-to-clipboard of selected hotlist & history entries.
* All die calls removed; errors now passed to front ends.
* Rationalised URL handling functionality.
* Added API for front ends to set DPI.
* Added simple map access a about:maps.
* Improved documentation for cross-compiling.
* Many minor improvements and fixes.
* LibCSS library 0.5.0 (CSS parser and selection engine):
+ Added selection support for CSS3 column-count property.
+ Added selection support for CSS3 column-fill property.
+ Added selection support for CSS3 column-gap property.
+ Added selection support for CSS3 column-rule-color property.
+ Added selection support for CSS3 column-rule-style property.
+ Added selection support for CSS3 column-rule-width property.
+ Added selection support for CSS3 column-span property.
+ Added selection support for CSS3 column-width property.
+ Added selection support for CSS3 break-after property.
+ Added selection support for CSS3 break-before property.
+ Added selection support for CSS3 break-inside property.
+ Improved and fixed absolute value conversion of computed styles.
+ Minor optimisations.
+ Updated buildsystem.
+ Improved selection tests.
+ Code tidying.
+ Many minor improvements and fixes.
* LibDOM library 0.1.2 (Document Object Model):
+ Updated buildsystem.
+ Minor fixes and improvements.
* Updated to use new core interface.
* Cleaned up the bundled !Cache distribution.
* Divorced from core-internal browser window data structure.
* Fixed user-launched fetches to be verifiable.
* Minor code tidying.
GTK-specific
------------
* Updated to use new core interface.
* Updated to use own main loop.
* Fixed thumbnailing issue.
* Added man page and XDG file..
* Divorced from core-internal browser window data structure.
* Various minor fixes and improvements.
AmigaOS-specific
----------------
* Updated to use new core interface.
* Improved filenames in save requesters.
* Improved kiosk window handling.
* Improved browser window scrollbar behaviour.
* Improved library handling.
* Divorced from core-internal browser window data structure.
* Many minor fixes and improvements.
* Simplified handing of core browser windows and tab management.
* Improved initialisation, and main loop.
* Rewritten scheduler.
* Improved Style Guide compliance.
* Added YouTube video helper script.
* Removed obsolete GetVideo support.
* Write to the disc cache asynchronously.
* Added preliminary support for AmigaOS 3.
* Code tidying.
BeOS/Haiku-specific
-------------------
* Updated to use new core interface.
* Divorced from core-internal browser window data structure.
* Fixed resource fetcher.
Atari-specific
--------------
* Updated to use new core interface.
* Divorced from core-internal browser window data structure.
* Fixed handling of local paths.
* Added support for disc cache.
* Code tidying.
* Many minor fixes and improvements.
Framebuffer-specific
--------------------
* Updated to use new core interface.
* Divorced from core-internal browser window data structure.
* Renamed internal font to "ns-sans".
* Added man page.
* Updated to use own main loop.
* Improved command line option handling.
I was thinking that'd be a thankless task... but with 523 builds, it would only take 10 tests to find the exact build where the bug was introduced. (i.e. Splitting the search space in half each time. 2^9 = 512.)
Yep, and a lot of the builds are deleted because this has gone on a bit long before I found out there was a problem But I'd like it narrowed down as much as possible as 500 builds is most likely over 1000 commits to looks through, and I don't really know what I'm looking for.
Probably worth re-iterating: if a bug is introduced, please tell me ASAP, as it's a lot easier to find and fix regressions when they've only just happened. Especially with something like this when it isn't a simple crash.
@ChrisH There are actually only 32 builds between 2110 and 2633 so I was able to narrow down the problem with 5 attempts using your method. I just wish I had read your post before I downloaded 32 archives
Amiga X1000 with 2GB memory & OS 4.1FE + Radeon HD 5450
O.K. It took some time but I determined which build starts freezing. Build #2369 does not freeze and the next build (#2398) freezes. Also, build #2369 loads certain pages immediately that build #2398 takes 20 seconds to load. However, the page layout with build #2369 can be pretty bad.
While testing I noticed that the theme images remain locked after quitting and cannot be deleted. I think that was happening through all the builds I tested. It's a minor issue but probably easy to fix.
Let us know if you find anything.
Amiga X1000 with 2GB memory & OS 4.1FE + Radeon HD 5450
Excellent, that narrows it down to a week. 21-Nov-2014 14:41 2369 27-Nov-2014 16:25 2398
Unfortunately it isn't easy to find specific dates in the git log Can you do me another favour and visit the following page with both versions: about:testament
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But I'd like it narrowed down as much as possible as 500 builds is most likely over 1000 commits to looks through, and I don't really know what I'm looking for.