Error in Worktodo file

[cheesehead]

Originally Posted by GARYP166

Question: what option do I choose from the drop down menu when I want to test it?

Prime95 isn't set up to allow testers to request PrimeNet assignment of any specific exponent.

Administrators can manually reserve a particular exponent for a particular user. Perhaps George will do so if you send him an e-mail (To get his e-addr, do a Google search on "George Woltman e-mail") or he reads this forum thread.

I guess that an LL test would be the next that is needed.

... but it's not -- the next step would be a P-1 test, before the LL.

Incidentally, what is an spl file (Cheesehead's posting of 24th November, 4:48 p.m.)?

It's a file Prime95 generates to communicate with PrimeNet. Mostly, it's just a compressed version of the results.txt file, but it sometimes has other status messages stored in it until the user's next communication with PrimeNet.

There are none with that extension in my Prime95 folder,

Prime95 creates the .spl file (name: prime.spl) when it has something to send to PrimeNet. After its content is successfully communicated to PrimeNet when the user next connects to PrimeNet, Prime95 deletes the file.

(.spl stands for "spool", which has long been used in mainframe computer systems to refer to a temporary storage file for data intended to be sent to a destination that's not immediately available.

For instance, on a multiprogramming system, when a program generates print output, the printer may be in the midst of printing some other program's output. So any program's print output is first sent to a spool file on disk. Later, when the printer is available, the OS prints the content of that spool file.)

[cheesehead]

Originally Posted by Mini-Geek

It'd be best to just tell Prime95 what's done and let it handle what needs to be done. This line tells it everything:

Test=49979687,69,0

Put that in worktodo.txt somewhere and restart Prime95, and it'll get to it when it gets there in the file.

Mini-Geek, please don't ever tell users to do that when PrimeNet (or George, with administrator intervention) has not already assigned that exponent to that user.

What if PrimeNet has assigned that exponent to someone else? Then Gary will have poached someone else's assignment. I've gone to a lot of trouble over the years to explain why poaching is undesirable.

Even if you've just checked an exponent's status online, PrimeNet might assign it between the time you look at its status and the time Gary starts working on it.

[Mini-Geek]

With the proper precautions, the chances of an accidental poach because you reserved an exponent like that are near zero. In the end, all you have to do is have Prime95 communicate with PrimeNet, and check that PrimeNet accepts your reservation. I agree that there is some chance that if you don't do any reserving, it'll be assigned to someone else, so that should be avoided, especially if the number in question is close to a leading edge for new reservations (this one is probably far enough to not cause any problems, but not certainly so). Here are more details, including a verification of this I just did:

To test that this works as intended, I just got a first-time LL test through the manual reservations. By the first time I checked it, which was very soon, the status at http://www.mersenne.org/report_expon...xp_lo=43195433 updated to show that it was reserved, so there is little to no delay from reservation to status updating. (note that the leading edge for LL reservations is far from the exponent in question - 431... vs 499...) and saw that it listed it as assigned. If there is any delay between assignment and update there, it's very short.
Then I added it into Prime95 as described (I didn't use the assignment key I just got, since I am acting like this is a different user) and got it to communicate it to PrimeNet. It said:

[Comm thread Nov 26 20:50] Registering assignment: LL M43195433
[Comm thread Nov 26 20:50] PrimeNet error 40: No assignment
[Comm thread Nov 26 20:50] ra: already assigned, exponent: 43195433, A: 1, b: 2, c: -1
[Comm thread Nov 26 20:50] Done communicating with server.

It changed the Test=43195433,68,0 line to Test=N/A,43195433,68,0. All exactly as expected. By simply reading the Prime95 status window to see if PrimeNet accepted your reservation or not, or by checking worktodo.txt to see if it put N/A or a real key, you can see if you ought to continue running or not. Even if somebody reserved it between you checking the status and you adding it to Prime95 and communicating that to PrimeNet, it'll then tell you that it's been reserved and you can know what's going on and stop it.

This was within a very short time from the reservation, about 2 minutes, so there is no practical delay (if any at all) in which time you might accidentally poach.

As long as the person doing this double checks that PrimeNet accepted the reservation, there is no chance of them accidentally poaching the number.

(note that I have since unreserved the number, so if you notice that the status says it's unreserved, that's perfectly right Edit: It has since been assigned to another user.)

[cheesehead]

Originally Posted by Mini-Geek

With the proper precautions, the chances of an accidental poach because you reserved an exponent like that are near zero.

Please don't use that argument to justify something you shouldn't be doing.

I have described an acceptable method (e-mail to George) that has none of the liabilities of your recommendation. There is no good reason to advise users to bypass PrimeNet.

I agree that there is some chance that if you don't do any reserving, it'll be assigned to someone else, so that should be avoided,

Do you acknowledge that there is a time gap, in your method, between when the user sets up the worktodo and when PrimeNet finds out about it, such as when there happens to be no communication for a while?

especially if the number in question is close to a leading edge for new reservations (this one is probably far enough to not cause any problems, but not certainly so).

Mini-Geek, there's a difference between advising someone who has extensive experience with GIMPS and PrimeNet and advising a newcomer.

Do not advise newcomers to do something that requires knowledge of PrimeNet beyond the standard instructions on the website.

You seem not to be aware of the numerous steps at which a newcomer might make a mistake without knowing it. Please do not advise newcomers to bypass the established procedures of PrimeNet.

To test that this works as intended, I just got a first-time LL test through the manual reservations. By the first time I checked it, which was very soon, the status at http://www.mersenne.org/report_expon...xp_lo=43195433 updated to show that it was reserved, so there is little to no delay from reservation to status updating.

Do you understand that this has nothing to do with my objections?

I'm not concerned with the time delay between PrimeNet reservation and status update!

Please re-read my previous posting to see which time intervals I was actually concerned about. They're much longer than the minuscule time between reservation and status update.

(note that the leading edge for LL reservations is far from the exponent in question - 431... vs 499...) and saw that it listed it as assigned. If there is any delay between assignment and update there, it's very short.

Why are you concerned with a time delay I never complained about? Obviously you don't understand the basis of my objections. Please re-read my previous postings until you understand where/when the real trouble could be.

Then I added it into Prime95 as described (I didn't use the assignment key I just got, since I am acting like this is a different user) and got it to communicate it to PrimeNet. It said:

[Comm thread Nov 26 20:50] Registering assignment: LL M43195433
[Comm thread Nov 26 20:50] PrimeNet error 40: No assignment
[Comm thread Nov 26 20:50] ra: already assigned, exponent: 43195433, A: 1, b: 2, c: -1
[Comm thread Nov 26 20:50] Done communicating with server.

It changed the Test=43195433,68,0 line to Test=N/A,43195433,68,0. All exactly as expected. By simply reading the Prime95 status window to see if PrimeNet accepted your reservation or not, or by checking worktodo.txt to see if it put N/A or a real key, you can see if you ought to continue running or not. Even if somebody reserved it between you checking the status and you adding it to Prime95 and communicating that to PrimeNet, it'll then tell you that it's been reserved and you can know what's going on and stop it.

YOU can know what's going on and stop it, but you are not a newcomer!!! Your own experience with this procedure means nothing about what trouble some newcomer might cause.

This was within a very short time from the reservation, about 2 minutes, so there is no practical delay (if any at all) in which time you might accidentally poach.

WRONG!!!

That's not the time interval wih which I am concerned. Thereis a much longer time interval in which the "accidental poaching" can happen. That you don't understand that is another indication that you should not yet be advising newcomers to bypass PrimeNet.

As long as the person doing this double checks that PrimeNet accepted the reservation

But the procedure you described to Gary skips the PrimeNet reservation. Your experiment did not use the procedure you recommended to Gary. If you can't see that difference, you have no business advising newcomers to bypass established procedures.

[Prime95]

Originally Posted by Mini-Geek

With the proper precautions, the chances of an accidental poach because you reserved an exponent like that are near zero.

Although it isn't documented anywhere, this is an acceptable way of reserving a specific exponent (the manual web forms also work).

To avoid an accidental poach, just make sure you read the on screen message or prime.log message and if the exponent is reserved by someone else, remove the "N/A" line from worktodo.txt.

Prime95 will contact the server within 24 hours to get this reservation (it might do it immediately upon restart - I'd have to check the code).

This is much better than using the Advanced/Test dialog box.

[cheesehead]

Originally Posted by Prime95

Although it isn't documented anywhere, this is an acceptable way of reserving a specific exponent (the manual web forms also work).

I don't think you are paying attention to the procedure to which Mini-Geek referred when he wrote, "With the proper precautions".

His method is not acceptable until corrected.

If you want to prescribe a correction to Mini-Geek's procedure to avoid this problem, then please do so.

I admit that I could have responded to Mini-Geek in a more explanatory manner, but I'm too irritated to do so now. Figure it out yourselves.

[Mini-Geek]

I meant to be more clear about this in my last post, but I didn't mean to suggest one thing and test/demonstrate another, I meant to modify my suggestion to also communicate ASAP and check that PrimeNet accepted it. I think this is what George was referring to as acceptable (though undocumented).
Alternately, as George mentioned and I just noticed you could do, you can specify the desired exponent as the both min and max at http://www.mersenne.org/manual_assignment/ and, assuming it's not already assigned, it'll give you a line. Here there is no possibility of a delay from starting work to communicating, or of a newbie misreading what's happening and accidentally poaching. If it's already reserved it doesn't give you the line to run it.
In the future I'll recommend this instead (i.e. using the manual assignment page and specifying your exponent). I think this should be acceptable to everyone and is easy and clear for everyone involved.

So, to close: Gary P, I suggest (instead of my earlier suggesiton) you go to http://www.mersenne.org/manual_assignment/, log in if you haven't already, leave the top two boxes set at 1, leave the preferred work type box set to World record tests, (for other candidates you might need to change this to a different work type, but for this that's right) enter 49979687 in both of the boxes for exponent range, and click Get Assignments. Then, if it gives you the assignment line, copy that into your worktodo.txt and restart Prime95.

[GARYP166]

Oh dear, I seem to have started something. I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to cause any unpleasantness.

Firstly, a little background. I’m an accountant by trade but I gave up maths after I did my O-level. My A levels were in arts subjects – History, English and French. In terms of using the Gimps system I’m a newbie and probably not to be trusted – my words, not anyone else’s.

Next, I’m afraid the error messages have come back. I edited the worktodo file according to Cheesehead’s instruction on 24th November, 4:48 p.m. It now reads

[Worker #1]
DoubleCheck=44C4F6F2CB1AA38A4941A98466710304,23110891,67,1
DoubleCheck=,46266683,68,1
[Worker #2]
Test=BDA22BB964CF82416AE126334DFA234B,45890281,68,1

Earlier this evening (UK time) I got an error message

Too many sections in worktodo.txt, Line #7
Error: Worktodo.txt file contained bad LL exponent: 0
Illegal line in worktodo file: DoubleCheck =,46266683,68,1

It seems not to like the instruction about 46,266,683, but I’m a little uncertain about the reference to Line #7 as there are only five lines in the file.

Thirdly, I don’t want to steal anyone else’s work, but I would hope that the system would not allow me to take over an exponent from someone else. I reserved 46,266,683 for myself, and I assumed that I was allowed to because it was not owned. That answers Cheesehead’s point in the same post about how I came to get it. I then received an instruction from the server about adding lines to worktodo. I interpreted it wrongly, but I don’t think that’s the point here. The point is that I got the exponent because of an action that I took, so presumably I could do it again. The question that I don’t think has been answered is whether I should be doing this.

To sum up, if the system and the board’s etiquette allow it I should like 46,266,683 and 49,979,687 to be my next two numbers. If I should not be proceeding this way I will not take offence at being told so and will wait for other numbers to be assigned to me.

G

[Mini-Geek]

It doesn't like that you put an empty assignment key. It's expecting one of:
None at all, including no leading comma (e.g. "DoubleCheck=46266683,68,1"); if you make it this and are set to communicate with PrimeNet, when it communicates it will attempt to reserve it and then change it to either:
An N/A, showing that PrimeNet won't give it one (e.g. "DoubleCheck=N/A,46266683,68,1")
A real assignment key assigned by PrimeNet (e.g. "DoubleCheck=ABCD123...,46266683,68,1")

PrimeNet is showing that you have reserved this number for double check. I'm guessing you have somehow lost the assignment key, since you don't have it in your worktodo.txt file. Here's how to find it and fill it in: Log in to mersenne.org, then go to http://www.mersenne.org/workload/ (in the menus, My Account > Assignments), then view the source of the page, look for the entry for 46266683's DC, and find the part that looks like '<input name="4CD0C3FA6D49387E9587EB9BF9B10BDA" value="R" '. (it can be easier to locate if you use Firefox, select the text around the checkbox in 46266683's line, (include the checkbox in your selection) and use right click > View Selection Source) Now copy that assignment key to your worktodo.txt file where it goes, and restart Prime95.

[GARYP166]

Worktodo edited again, and now reads

[Worker #1]
DoubleCheck=44C4F6F2CB1AA38A4941A98466710304,23110891,67,1
DoubleCheck=E1481329C1F276F4CD114D356D74BBC9,46266683,68,1
[Worker #2]
Test=BDA22BB964CF82416AE126334DFA234B,45890281,68,1

I logged on and went to manual assignments for 49,979,687 (without the commas), asking for P1 testing. I got the message

Error code: 40
Error text: No assignment available meeting CPU, program code and work preference requirements, cpu_id: 193968, cpu # = 0, user_id = 8908

I repeated the request for 49,979,681, which is no. 2,999,999, and got the same response. Does this mean someone else has them or am I being told that there is some reason why my PC cannot do the tests?

G

[Mini-Geek]

Hmm...that's strange, but I don't think it's anything wrong on your end, and neither of those numbers are reserved yet (M49979681, from the 2,999,999th prime, actually had a small factor, so there's no need to do any more work on that for now). I think that PrimeNet v5 started allowing P-1 assignments at 50M, so it won't accept a P-1 reservation below that. Just reserve it as a first-time test. If you don't want to do the LL as well as the P-1, you can just report the P-1 part and unreserve the candidate.