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I've been getting this annoying error for several minutes straight now. All I can do is hit OK and the error shows up again.

I posted here since it seems to be associated with syncing, since I see the Sync button twirl right before the error.

Anyone else getting this error?
 
Yes, I see it frequently. I've been reporting it for over 2 years now. Maybe if we get lucky, someone from Omni will explain why it is unreasonable to expect this bug to have been fixed :rolleyes:

First thing to try is just quitting OmniFocus and restarting it. If that doesn't do the trick, call them up in the morning (after 10AM Pacific time) at 800-315-6664 or +1-206-523-4152 and have them take a look with you.
 
Thanks whpalmer4. I'll quit out (after over an hour now I don't think it'll heal itself :) ) and try again.

I've only noticed this behavior for the past 2 days. I guess I'm lucky that I use OF iPad for most of my work.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Omen View Post
I've been getting this annoying error for several minutes straight now. All I can do is hit OK and the error shows up again.

[...]

Anyone else getting this error?
I've only ever heard of someone getting this error when some third-party software comes along and deletes OmniFocus' cache database while OmniFocus was open and using that database.

Closing and re-opening OmniFocus re-creates the cache database, as Bill notes, but really you should track down the software that's doing this (usually some sort of "cleaning" software) and report that as a bug: they shouldn't be deleting files out from underneath apps that are currently running and have those files open.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ken Case View Post
I've only ever heard of someone getting this error when some third-party software comes along and deletes OmniFocus' cache database while OmniFocus was open and using that database.

Closing and re-opening OmniFocus re-creates the cache database, as Bill notes, but really you should track down the software that's doing this (usually some sort of "cleaning" software) and report that as a bug: they shouldn't be deleting files out from underneath apps that are currently running and have those files open.
Hi Ken,

In my case, I don't have any software that I run to clean my iMac, but I'll check to see if I have some other app that fiddles with the caches.
 
I use no such software, and have been specifically asked by support ninjas about that, and to verify the permissions are correct on the cache file. Only OmniFocus manipulates that file on my system, and it was agreed that the permissions were correct. I've also been told that it wasn't thought to happen very often, and that no one had figured out how to reproduce it, so it hadn't been fixed. I responded to the former by filing a new bug each time I saw it; it is a well-known rule of thumb that many customers will not go to any effort to report problems unless the impact is severe, so the prevalence of issues that don't cause a crash, obvious data loss or the like is typically vastly underestimated. As for the "we can't fix it if we can't make it happen in the lab" argument, a search of your database will find a number of bug reports from me over the years offering to run instrumented images and even offering to provide remote debugger access, offers which I also made in person to you at Macworld years ago while discussing another such bug (also still unfixed). I don't think I can reasonably be faulted here for failing to bring this to your (collective) attention or to cooperate in tracking it down!

If the group mindset at Omni is truly that bugs which cannot be reproduced on demand are unfixable, allow me to congratulate you on choosing to focus on a business model where no single customer's business makes an appreciable impact on the bottom line. My professional experience has been different. Both customers and management took the not unreasonable view that paying substantial sums for our products or compensation meant that they wouldn't have to listen to excuses, and that we in turn would solve even the inconvenient problems. Truth be told, many of us resented any implication that we might not be up to the challenge of solving the puzzle. Finding bugs by reasoning and analysis was once a necessary skill for those who wrote software. As this was before the advent of "ethically sourced software" such activities (along with additional development) frequently took place late at night and even on weekends! :)

A standard approach to finding the cause of a contention issue as this appears to be would be to buffer a circular trace in memory of users of that resource and dump the contents of the buffer to the log if the problem is encountered. Building a decent trace facility takes some effort, but once you have it, you have a valuable tool for tracking down sporadic issues and more easily analyzing bugs which may be reproduced on demand but have complicated underlying causes. You'll find plenty of nails to hit with your new hammer!
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whpalmer4 View Post
I use no such software
OK, we should figure out what is happening in your case, then.

Does the SQL database still exist when you get this error? (For everyone else I've talked to, it had been removed or was unwritable.) If so, what happens when you try to access it from a Terminal window using the sqlite3 command?

Does this happen on all of your machines, or just one? Is there anything peculiar about that machine?

Quote:
As for the "we can't fix it if we can't make it happen in the lab" argument … If the group mindset at Omni is truly that bugs which cannot be reproduced on demand are unfixable
It's sure a lot easier to fix things we can reproduce—but I don't know where you're getting the notion that we don't work on things we can't reproduce.

In fact, a significant portion of our engineering time (past and present) is spent trying to fix issues that we can't reproduce. (A recent example: since OmniFocus 2 launched we've spent a significant amount of that team's engineering effort trying to determine why OmniFocus 2 crashes on launch for some people who use Exchange calendars—a problem we still haven't been able to reproduce here, or it would likely already be solved.)

We do try to focus on doing work that will bring the most benefit to the most people. As far as I know your particular problem is unique (since everyone else's problem has been solved by repairing permissions or by not running other software which deletes our cache), so I apologize for it slipping through the cracks—and I do hope we can track it down.

As for "ethically sourced software"… I assume you did see how many builds went out between 11pm and 2am last night? And started up again at 7am this morning?
 
 


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