[GRASS-dev] [GRASS GIS] #2015: Missing file association dialog pops up all the time

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1

#2015: Missing file association dialog pops up all the time
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------
Reporter: wenzeslaus | Owner: grass-dev@…
     Type: defect | Status: new
Priority: normal | Milestone: 7.0.0
Component: Default | Version: svn-trunk
Keywords: | Platform: MSWindows 7
      Cpu: All |
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------
== Summary ==

Doing almost anything in GRASS on MS Windows causes that "Missing file
association dialog" pops up. It happens when some Python module runs.
System reports that "file association" for `.py` file is missing, although
that there is no (?) reason for it. The strange thing is that after
closing the dialog, everything starts normally.

== Details ==

This was not happening few weeks ago. It is happening for both Win 7 and
Win 8 and for new GRASS 7 and also for more than half-year-old snapshot,
so one would say that something changed by some Windows update.
(Milestone, version, and ms win set to 7, but probably applies also for
others.)

It seems that system looks for the "file association" for `.py` files even
if you run
{{{
C:\...grass...\extrabin\python.exe C:\...myfile.py
}}}
from windows command line (as some would say DOS). It also happens if you
use Popen to start a subprocess.

Setting file association to `C:\...grass...\extrabin\python.exe` or
`C:\...grass...\extrabin\pythonw.exe` does help - the dialog no longer
pops up. However, when the association was set to `notepad`, running some
script in GRASS opened `notepad` window with the `.py` file, so system is
using the file association to start something. I haven't noticed this with
association to `python.exe`.

I'm also not sure when GRASS is using file association (i.e. staring
python script without any `python.exe`) and when is using `python.exe` to
start script (which is passed as parameter). When a later case would be
the only case the file association set to some /dev/null-like program
would work but its of course strange.

Strangely, newer installations of GRASS 7 should have file association set
by the installer according to r54625 and r54626.

== How to debug a problem ==

I've tried to use these commands to get some info, but they were not
working (change haven't appeared):
{{{
assoc .py
ftype "Something, probably Python.File"
}}}

Also
{{{
echo %PATHEXT%
}}}
may be important, since it contains `.PY` in GRASS session.

--
Ticket URL: <http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/2015&gt;
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>

2

#2015: Missing file association dialog pops up all the time
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------
Reporter: wenzeslaus | Owner: grass-dev@…
     Type: defect | Status: new
Priority: normal | Milestone: 7.0.0
Component: Default | Version: svn-trunk
Keywords: | Platform: MSWindows 7
      Cpu: All |
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------

Comment(by hamish):

one high profile change in the last week or so is
source:grass/trunk/mswindows/env.bat changed to have

{{{
-set GRASS_PYTHON=python
+set GRASS_PYTHON=%GISBASE%\extrabin\python.exe
}}}

to match `set PYTHONHOME=%GISBASE%\Python27` a few lines later in the same
file.

try undoing that by hand and seeing if it makes a difference. also, if you
do `echo %PATHEXT%` from ''outside'' of GRASS, is .PY already associated
with a system install of python? AFAIU the official python.org installer
makes some registry changes to set the file assoc. (no different than
resetting it from the command line later, afaiu)

?,
Hamish

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/2015#comment:1&gt;
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>

3

#2015: Missing file association dialog pops up all the time
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------
Reporter: wenzeslaus | Owner: grass-dev@…
     Type: defect | Status: new
Priority: normal | Milestone: 7.0.0
Component: Python | Version: svn-trunk
Keywords: wingrass | Platform: MSWindows 7
      Cpu: All |
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------
Changes (by hamish):

* cc: grass-dev@… (removed)
  * keywords: => wingrass
  * component: Default => Python

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/2015#comment:2&gt;
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>

4

#2015: Missing file association dialog pops up all the time
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------
Reporter: wenzeslaus | Owner: grass-dev@…
     Type: defect | Status: new
Priority: normal | Milestone: 7.0.0
Component: Python | Version: svn-trunk
Keywords: wingrass | Platform: MSWindows 7
      Cpu: All |
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------

Comment(by hamish):

A couple quoting fixes around GRASS_PYTHON in r56927-9, but that's all
start-up, nothing to do with file associations AFAICT.

Tested most recent nightly build of grass7 (r56911) with those fixes
applied by hand on a fresh install of XP (so no parallel installs of other
python versions), seems to be working for me.

Displaying a raster map, starting the carto composer tool worked fine for
me, although an error I did see was the mapswipe tool complaining when I
clicked the help button about `'NoneType' object has no attribute 'Help'`.

If I do `echo %PATHEXT%` at a regular C:\> prompt outside of grass7 I have
no .PY on the list, from a grass7 command line session I do. Do you have
the same?

also try:

  C:\> ftype Python.File
and
  C:\> ftype | grep -i python
and
  C:\> assoc | grep -i py

from within the GRASS session and look for anomalies. (maybe compare with
outside a grass session, but grep might not work without extrabin in the
%PATH%)

see also
  - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9037346/making-python-scripts-run-
on-windows-without-specifying-py-extension
  - http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4727480/how-do-i-make-my-perl-
scripts-act-like-normal-programs-on-windows

hmm, Raster -> r.mask
{{{
Traceback (most recent call last):
   File "C:\Program Files\GRASS GIS
7.0.svn\etc\gui\wxpython\lmgr\frame.py", line 737, in
OnMenuCmd

cmd = self.GetMenuCmd(event)
   File "C:\Program Files\GRASS GIS
7.0.svn\etc\gui\wxpython\lmgr\frame.py", line 722, in
GetMenuCmd

input = GUI().GetCommandInputMapParamKey(cmdlist[0])
   File "C:\Program Files\GRASS GIS
7.0.svn\etc\gui\wxpython\gui_core\forms.py", line 2310, in
GetCommandInputMapParamKey

tree =
etree.fromstring(gtask.get_interface_description(cmd))
   File "C:\Program Files\GRASS GIS
7.0.svn\etc\python\grass\script\task.py", line 461, in
get_interface_description

"\n\nDetails: %(det)s") % { 'cmd' : cmd, 'det' :
decode(cmderr) }
grass.script.core
.
ScriptError
:
Unable to fetch interface description for command 'r.mask'.
Details: C:\Program Files\GRASS GIS
7.0.svn\extrabin\python.exe: can't open file 'r.mask':
[Errno 2] No such file or directory
}}}

but now restarting GRASS and restarting it works fine, so I'm not sure,
maybe that r.mask error was just a temporary glitch(?).

Hamish

--
Ticket URL: <http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/2015#comment:3&gt;
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>

5

#2015: Missing file association dialog pops up all the time
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------
Reporter: wenzeslaus | Owner: grass-dev@…
     Type: defect | Status: new
Priority: normal | Milestone: 7.0.0
Component: Python | Version: svn-trunk
Keywords: wingrass | Platform: MSWindows 7
      Cpu: All |
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------

Comment(by hellik):

see thread ''[GRASS-dev] Python handling in winGRASS7'' in dev-ML:

http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/grass-dev/2013-July/065137.html
http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/grass-dev/2013-July/065140.html

and

http://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html#launcher

for some hints.

--
Ticket URL: <http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/2015#comment:4&gt;
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>

6

#2015: Missing file association dialog pops up all the time
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------
Reporter: wenzeslaus | Owner: grass-dev@…
     Type: defect | Status: new
Priority: normal | Milestone: 7.0.0
Component: Python | Version: svn-trunk
Keywords: wingrass | Platform: MSWindows 7
      Cpu: All |
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------

Comment(by hellik):

Replying to [comment:4 hellik]:
> see thread ''[GRASS-dev] Python handling in winGRASS7'' in dev-ML:
>
> http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/grass-dev/2013-July/065137.html
> http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/grass-dev/2013-July/065140.html
>
> and
>
> http://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html#launcher
>
> for some hints.

and here for the structure of the py.ini-file:

https://bitbucket.org/vinay.sajip/pylauncher/src/tip/Doc/launcher.rst#rst-
header-customization-via-ini-files

https://bitbucket.org/pypa/pylauncher/src/7520661dbf4cd643486f4e1ff56212e168ad7167/py.ini.template?at=default

--
Ticket URL: <http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/2015#comment:5&gt;
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>

7

#2015: Missing file association dialog pops up all the time
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------
Reporter: wenzeslaus | Owner: grass-dev@…
     Type: defect | Status: new
Priority: normal | Milestone: 7.0.0
Component: Python | Version: svn-trunk
Keywords: wingrass | Platform: MSWindows 7
      Cpu: All |
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------

Comment(by hellik):

Replying to [comment:4 hellik]:
> see thread ''[GRASS-dev] Python handling in winGRASS7'' in dev-ML:
>
> http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/grass-dev/2013-July/065137.html
> http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/grass-dev/2013-July/065140.html
>
> and
>
> http://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html#launcher
>
> for some hints.

some quick tests:

(1) Download Python 3.3.2 Windows x86 MSI Installer

(2) extract Python 3.3.2 without installing it
(e.g. msiexec /a C:\dl\testunzip\python-3.3.2.msi /qb
TARGETDIR=C:\dl\testunzip\uz)

(3) open a windows console in C:\dl\testunzip\uz and type py --version

{{{
C:\dl\testunzip\uz>py --version
Python 2.7.2
}}}

=> it's the system wide python 2.7.2 installed by ArcGIS10.1.

or

{{{
C:\dl\testunzip\uz>py --help
Python Launcher for Windows Version 3.3.2150.1013

usage: py [ launcher-arguments ] script [ script-arguments ]

Launcher arguments:

-2 : Launch the latest Python 2.x version
-3 : Launch the latest Python 3.x version
-X.Y : Launch the specified Python version
-X.Y-32: Launch the specified 32bit Python version

The following help text is from Python:

usage: C:\Python27\ArcGIS10.1\python.exe [option] ... [-c cmd | -m mod |
file |
-] [arg] ...
Options and arguments (and corresponding environment variables):
-B : don't write .py[co] files on import; also
PYTHONDONTWRITEBYTECODE=x
[...]
}}}

(4) script example
http://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html#from-a-script

{{{
hello.py
#! python
import sys
sys.stdout.write("hello from Python %s\n" % (sys.version,))
}}}

{{{
C:\dl\testunzip\uz>py hello.py
hello from Python 2.7.2 (default, Jun 12 2011, 15:08:59) [MSC v.1500 32
bit (Int
el)]
}}}

(5) put py.ini in the same folder as the windows python launcher py.exe.

content of py.ini which points to the osgeo4w-bundled python 2.7.4

{{{
py.ini
[commands]
myprog="C:\OSGeo4W\bin\python.exe"
}}}

and change hello.py to

{{{
#! myprog
import sys
sys.stdout.write("hello from Python %s\n" % (sys.version,))
}}}

{{{
C:\dl\testunzip\uz>py hello.py
hello from Python 2.7.4 (default, Apr 6 2013, 19:54:46) [MSC v.1500 32
bit (Int
el)]
}}}

(6) change py.ini to point to the extracted (not installed) python 3.3.2

{{{
py.ini
[commands]
myprog="C:\dl\testunzip\uz\python.exe"
}}}

{{{
C:\dl\testunzip\uz>py hello.py
hello from Python 3.3.2 (v3.3.2:d047928ae3f6, May 16 2013, 00:03:43) [MSC
v.1600
  32 bit (Intel)]
}}}

it seems to be possible to switch the used python interpreter by using the
Python Launcher for Windows concept and point to a specfic python
interpreter (installed or bundled).

could this help?

--
Ticket URL: <http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/2015#comment:6&gt;
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>

8

#2015: Missing file association dialog pops up all the time
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------
Reporter: wenzeslaus | Owner: grass-dev@…
     Type: defect | Status: new
Priority: normal | Milestone: 7.0.0
Component: Python | Version: svn-trunk
Keywords: wingrass | Platform: MSWindows 7
      Cpu: All |
------------------------+---------------------------------------------------

Comment(by wenzeslaus):

I can again confirm this issue with r58198. I got "Select application to
open .py file" dialog on Win 8 on different machine then those before. I
got it only once during the start. Other possibilities not tested. It does
not happen on other user accounts on the same machine.

--
Ticket URL: <https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/2015#comment:7&gt;
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>

9

#2015: Missing file association dialog pops up all the time
--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------
  Reporter: wenzeslaus | Owner: grass-dev@…
      Type: defect | Status: closed
  Priority: normal | Milestone: 7.0.0
Component: Python | Version: svn-trunk
Resolution: worksforme | Keywords: wingrass
  Platform: MSWindows 7 | Cpu: All
--------------------------+-------------------------------------------------
Changes (by wenzeslaus):

  * status: new => closed
  * resolution: => worksforme

Comment:

Nobody reported this issue lately now (approx r62188) and we have
different method of starting Python scripts (using BAT files), so I would
just consider this as caused by some MS Windows update and I'm closing the
ticket as worksforme.

Reopen only if you have exactly the same problem as reported, if unsure
open new ticket, the discussion here anyway does not apply to the current
source code.

--
Ticket URL: <http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/2015#comment:8&gt;
GRASS GIS <http://grass.osgeo.org>