Development Notes
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VROC continues to be under development. We plan to add a number
of additional features to make VROC more useful and more convenient.
Here are some notes regarding VROC's current status and our future
plans for it.
Browser
As of VROC 2.0, we have added support of Microsoft's Internet
Explorer.
VROC's race list pages require up to date browsers to work
properly. Use Netscape
Navigator 4.08 (or Communicator 4.5 or newer) or newer, or Microsoft's
Internet
Explorer 4.0 (try to get v 4.72.3xx or later w/MS VM for
Java: in IE, go to Help/Product Updates.) Earlier versions of
Netscape lack critical Java functionality and will not function
correctly with the VROC Java applet.
Known Issues
Netscape Dies Slowly
When you visit a page, such as the VROC race list page, which
has a Java applet on it, your browser starts a separate module
for executing Java.
In older versions of Netscape (4.05 through 4.07), when you
exit Netscape after starting Java, Netscape continues running
in the background for a minute or so. If you view it in the Windows
Close Program box (press Ctl-Alt-Delete) you will see it continue
to run. Eventually it will show as not responding, and then a
few seconds later it will disappear.
If you attempt to restart Netscape while it is still running
in background, bad things happen, not the least of which are
Netscape and/or Windows hanging. I've become very careful to
check to make sure Netscape has terminated before I restart it.
This appears to be a bug in Netscape versions 4.0x, and preliminary
tests of Netscape 4.08 (and Communicator 4.5) suggest that it
has been quashed in that version. For this reason, among others,
we plan to discontinue support of Netscape versions prior to
4.08.
Loading a New Version of the VROC Applet
For some reason, once Netscape has loaded a particular applet,
it refuses to reload it unless you stop and restart Netscape.
Therefore, if we install a new version of the applet, you'll
have to stop and restart Netscape to get it. When you do, beware
of the problem described under Netscape Dies
Slowly, above.
In IE, you can hold the control key down while you click the
Refresh button. This forces the browser to download the latest
version of the applet.
Incorrect Local IP Address
If the VROC applet reports an incorrect IP address for your
Internet connection, no one will be able to join races you host
(although you will be able to join other peoples' races).
There are at least two reasons why the VROC Race List applet
might display an incorrect IP address for your machine. There
are workarounds for both problems.
Here is a discussion of the potential causes of these problems,
and workarounds.
Reconnecting DUN while Browser is Running
If you're like most people who connect to the Internet through
Dialup Networking (DUN), you have a have a dynamic IP address.
A new IP address is assigned each time you connect to your ISP.
This means that if you close your Dialup Networking connection
to the Internet, and reconnect, you will now have a new IP address.
If you do this while Netscape is running, Netscape will not
be aware of the change in your IP address, and will incorrectly
report to the VROC applet the IP address which your machine had
when Netscape started.
The solution is to remember to shut down Netscape and restart
it if you disconnect from your ISP, and you plan to host a race
through VROC.
Multihomed Machines
Machines with two IP addresses are known as "multihomed".
If your machine is attached to a LAN and to the Internet, and
you are running TCP/IP on the LAN, it is a multihomed machine.
If your machine is multihomed, Java may report your LAN IP
address instead of your Dialup Networking (or other Internet)
IP address.
The applet addresses this by retrieving a list of all IP addresses
belonging to your machine. It ignores nonroutable IP addresses,
including those in the ranges 192.168.*.* (most commonly used
in home and other small LANs) and 10.*.*.*. and picks the other.
If there are multiple routables, it takes the last one it finds.
If we hear enough cries of dismay, we'll make the applet ignore
nonroutables in the range of 172.16.*.* through 172.31.*.*.
If, despite this, VROC is still reporting an incorrect IP
address, you can enter the correct IP address in the IP Override
field.
Java Console
We use the Java Console for reporting debug information (errors
and exceptions). If you find weirdnesses, you might try turning
on the console (new versions of both major browsers have one).
Observe the messages displayed there, and you can even copy the
messages and paste them into an e-mail to us.
Other Errors
If you see any other errors, please let Tech
Support know.
Future
Additional features are under consideration, including collection
of race results, tracking driver performance statistics, and
support of additional racing simulations. See the VROC To
Do list for more information.
Continue to Part 2 |