Trouble Shooting AnyScript Models#
If you think mechanics is simple, it’s probably just because you haven’t worked with three-dimensional space yet. The laws of mechanics are pretty easy to comprehend as long as stuff is moving on a one-dimensional line. When you go to two dimensions, complications such as rotational inertia and centrifugal forces start to play a role, but the equations are still not very difficult. The third dimension is what complicates things enormously and even to the point that mere kinematics becomes a matter for university scholars. It is quite literally rocket science.
A system like AnyBody is a tremendous help in this situation because it sets up and handles all the equations inside the system and relieves you of the task of actually handling the mathematics. But the system does not prevent you from creating models where the syntax or semantics of the model is invalid, where segments cannot reach their joints, where the kinematics is undefined, or where there are not enough muscles to balance the forces in the system. You are likely to run into all these problems.
More precisely, you can get the following types of errors:
Load-time errors - when the AnyScript model is syntactically erroneous
Run-time errors - when a successfully loaded model refuses to be analyzed.
Load-time errors#
A load-time error occurs when you load a model by pressing F7 or the M<-S icon on top of each window. This causes the system to attempt a compilation of the model you have in the window, and any errors occurring in this respect are load-time errors.
Load-time errors are problems with the syntax of the AnyScript model you have authored. Such a model must honor a number of very formal semantic rules to be valid, and if it fails the test of any of those, you will get a load-time error.
Each possible error that can occur is associated with an error message, and the system will print the message in the message window at the bottom of the screen, for instance like this:
ERROR : C:\MyDocuments\AnyScripts\Main.any(42) : AnyVar : unexpected
or like this:
ERROR : C:\MyDocuments\AnyScripts\Main.any(45) : cannot open file : DrawSetting.any
or this:
ERROR : C:\MyDocuments\AnyScripts\Main.any(133) : EOF : unexpected
As you can see, error messages adhere to a certain structure. The first part after ERROR is the file in which the system encountered the error. Notice that this may be a different file from the one you were loading because the main file may spawn to include files during the loading of the model.
After the file name you find a number in parenthesis. This is the number of the line where the error occurred. If you double-click the file name or the number, the file opens, and the cursor is placed at the line in question. Be sure to click the file name or line number and not the error message.
After the line number comes the actual specification of the error. With good descriptive error messages and easy access to the error location you should have the problem fixed in no time. Unfortunately things are not always that nice. First of all, the error messages are not always very descriptive. This is a problem the AnyBody Modeling System shares with any other computer language compiler in the market. It is not because programmers specifically want to bother their users. The problem is simply that error messages are generated by a very formal semantic analysis. This makes them very different from the natural human expression of the problem, and they can be difficult for the user to understand. But you can get used to them and people have been known to even grow fond of their conciseness.
The second and more serious problem is that the error may occur in a totally different location from where it really is. Let’s take an example: Suppose by mistake you have included the wrong file like this:
#include "TheWrongFile.any"
somewhere in the model. When the compiler spawns to the wrong file it is likely to meet statements or references to objects that do not exist. The compiler will report en error in WrongFile.any, but the real error is in the file that included WrongFile.any.
Here are some typical errors and their consequences:
Forgotten semicolon#
Every statement in AnyScript must be terminated by a semicolon, and it is easy to forget. The consequence is that the compiler will proceed to the next line and probably report that it has encountered something unexpected there. By closer investigation, the next line may be fully in order, and you get confused. The problem was really on the former line.
Notice also that end braces must also have a semicolon after them.
Unbalanced braces#
Braces {} are used to group things together in AnyScript. They must be coherent
and balanced, and if you have one too few or one too many it can completely
change the structure of the code, and you can get strange error messages. The
best remedy is to use consistent indentations in the code. This makes it easy to
follow the brace level and spot mistakes.
The AnyScript editor can indent your code automatically. If you select all the text and press Alt-F8, all lines are indented according to the brace level, and this often makes it much easier to see where the problem is. Beware that the missing brace can be in an include file.
Mix-up of decimal points and commas#
Some nationalities use decimal commas, and some use decimal points. The AnyBody Modeling System consistently uses decimal points regardless of the nationality settings in your computer. If you type a comma in place of a decimal point, you will get a syntax error.
Mix-up of of letters#
Beware that there is a difference between the letter ‘O’ and the digit zero, ‘0’, and the letter ‘l’ and the digit one, ‘1’.
Inconsistent use of capitals#
AnyScript is case-sensitive, so these two statements refer to different variables:
MyVariable = 1;
Myvariable = 1;
This also means that predefined class names such as AnyVar or AnyFolder must be written with correct capitalization.
Missing reference operator#
If by mistake you assign two folders to each other:
AnyFolder MyFolderCopy = MyFolder;
you will get the error message:
Folder assignment expected for this object.
What the message means is that this type of assignment is not allowed. You may argue that the error message is misleading because ‘=’ is indeed an assignment operator. However, operators in AnyScript are polymorphic, and they are interpreted in the context of the variables they operate on, and for two folders no proper assignment operator exists. So, while rhetorically correct, what the statement really means is that you are missing an ampersand, ‘&’. Assignment of folders to each other must be by reference like this.
AnyFolder &MyFolderCopy = MyFolder;
Missing expected members#
Some classes in AnyScript have members that must be initialized. For instance, this declaration
AnySeg arm = {
Mass = 12;
};
will produce the error:
Obligatory initialization of member : AnyVec3 Jii is missing.
The reason is that AnySeg has a property called Jii which must be given a value before the definition is complete. Similarly, some objects have properties that are untouchable. This declaration:
AnySeg arm = {
t = 12;
};
also causes an error:
t : Initialization denied.
because t is a protected variable. It is set automatically by the system and cannot be assigned a value by the user.
Run-time errors#
Run-time errors occur during analysis of a successfully loaded model. Their nature and remedies are completely dependent on the nature of the study. Please refer to the tutorial “A study of studies” for further information.