Re: Help with a possible bug
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg98901] Re: Help with a possible bug
- From: Bob F <deepyogurt at gmail.com>
- Date: Tue, 21 Apr 2009 05:10:02 -0400 (EDT)
- References: <gsivea$9bt$1@smc.vnet.net>
On Apr 20, 5:11 pm, M8R-lj1... at mailinator.com wrote:
> At work we seem to have stumbled on a strange bug between Table and
> Part. We can reproduce the bug on differently configured Mac and
> Linux boxes. I tried Wolfram support, but they claim they cannot
> reproduce the bug. So I was hoping someone could try it out and
> report their results. Thanks in advance to all volunteers.
>
> For us, the bug is new in 7.0.1. It does not show up in version 6.
> To reproduce it, fill up a 17 x 267 matrix with 3s. Compute the sum
> of some of the columns and you get the result 51 (17 x 3). But if one
> computes the sum for the last few columns, the result is completely
> off. The bug seems to arise from the interaction of optimizations i=
n
> Table and the use of All inside of Part.
>
> ------------ code
>
> mat = Table[3, {i, 1, 17}, {j, 1, 267}];
>
> sum = Table[Total[mat[[All, j]]], {j, 1, 249}]
>
> sum1 = Table[Total[mat[[All, j]]], {j, 1, 252}];
> sum2 = Table[Total[mat[[All, j]]], {j, 1, 252}]
>
> ------------ end code
>
> If you look at sum1, it will be correct on a fresh copy of the
> Kernel. The problem only arise from the second time on.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Papin
>
> Email: ImportString["cGFwaW5AY294Lm5ldA==", "Base64"]
How bizarre!! On my Mac with version 7.0.1 every sum for the last 18
columns is bogus, and it appears that the bogus values keep changing
in some sort of random way. For example if you tried
mat = Table[3, {i, 1, 17}, {j, 1, 267}];
Manipulate[
sum = Table[Total[mat[[All, jj]]], {jj, 1, mm}], {mm, 1, 267, 1}]
everything is OK up thru 249th column (and even thru the 267th the
first time on a fresh kernel just like you described), then as soon as
you select any other of the 250th thru 267th columns - they total goes
squirrely from then on for all subsequent TOTAL's that are calculated,
and changes every time you look at any of the last 18 (even looking at
the same column total the numbers are different, ie look at column
267, then 266, then 267 again and the numbers are different from the
first time you looked), so there is apparently some sort of random
gibberish it is picking up when the totals are calculated.
Try sending Wolfram the Manipulate command and it's trivial to
reproduce on a Mac -- make sure you stay on the phone with them while
they try it on a Mac.
To make it even more obvious, change the starting index on the
Manipulate to 248 and start "playing" the manipulate and watch it go
bonkers. The numbers seem to always be 9 digits and are between the
upper 200 millions and the middle to upper 300 millions in magnitude,
but didn't seem to get much different even after letting the
Manipulate play for quite a while at the highest "speed".
Let us know what they say.
-Bob