Bad runtime object reference (Error 21) when run through incremental build. Please help.

[Former Member]

Hi,

Let me brief about my application before ask the question. In our application, we build patch and deploy at client machine. For building patch, we have a library upatch.pbl. This library is only for patch items. whenever we work on defect any released version. We work on object and move it to upatch library.

Once done, we build upatch library using incremental build. Once build is done, we deploy this upatch.pbd at client machine. This update.pbd resides at top in library list so that changed object takes preference in the application. Now the problem is whenever we run the application, we get bad runtime object reference error and application crashes. One workaround, I know is to add reference objects in upatch library and again build the incremental build. We don't know which reference may fail during running the application. We don't get this issue in development mode (running through pbls).

We can not know which reference is failing until we thoroughtly test the whole process. I don't want to increase the size of the upatch pbls (by adding reference objects).

What is the best way to avoid this bad runtime object reference issue. We can't run the full build otherwise we would have to deploy the whole pbds at client machine.

Please help me. I am attaching the error which we get when run the applications.

Please help.

Thanks,

Vipin

469-3058208

[Former Member]

When you change an object, you'll need to include the objects that reference it (particularly descendants) in that update.pbl as well.  That's they way it is.

[Former Member]

Hi Bruce,

Thanks for your prompt reply. I was surfing on google to find the solution for this. I found one site where it has been said that adding reference object in pbr file while making build may solve this issue. Is this correct?

So there is no other way except to add the descendent object in patch library.

[Former Member]

The .pbr file is primarily for including image files. You can use it to specify DataWindow objects that are assigned to a DataWindow control or Datastore at runtime.

If you do an Incremental deploy, it should only generate new PBD files for the libraries containing an object that needed to be regenerated.

With the speed of company networks or the Internet these days, I don't see why you wouldn't just update all the files. It would be a lot simpler.

[Former Member]

I understand updating all will solve the reference issue but we update all files once in a year in a new product version release.