SPSS support unfriendly

[Bernhard Reiter]

This is the christmas rant about SPSS, Inc. and its support department.
They would not help me, though there is a bug in SPSS for Windows v9.0.1.
because I used python to script it.

I thought I just let you know. :)
On the other hand I have good experience with Mark Hammond's support 
for the win32 extensions. He also confirmed that SPSS' COM server just throws
the towel there, without giving the client more to work with.

Here is part of my communications with them (some personal stuff blacked out):

. From: WWW Support <websupport at spss.com>                   
. To: "'Bernhard Reiter'" <bernhard at uwm.edu>                                   
. Subject: RE: Spss Base v9.0.1 crashes (Win32,Scripting)                       
. Date: Wed, 15 Dec 1999 09:30:13 -0600                                       

. I have little to suggest.  We never tested SPSS for Windows
. using Python script, and so can make no guarantees that
. it will run properly in that environment.

. -----Original Message-----
. From: Bernhard Reiter [mailto:bernhard at uwm.edu]
. Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 1999 3:26 PM
. To: support at spss.com
. Subject: Spss Base v9.0.1 crashes (Win32,Scripting)

. using:
. 	Spss for Windows 9.0.1 (24 Feb 1999)
. 	Standard Version
. 
. 	Registered for:

. I encounter frequent crashes scripting Spss.
. The crashes are random in appearance and nature. 
. Sometimes it just works.
. 
. Task: I am scripting SPSS using python via python's win32com extensions
. just like any other COM scripting language.
. 
. I run multiple linear regressions and "consume" the resulting
. output into a textfile I write. The objects in the output view are
. deleted after each regression result is read.
. 
. This usually works fine for 10 up to 20 regressions before SPSS crashes.
. 
. Sometimes the COM server just throws an DISP_E_EXCEPTION exception
. without further error information and stopps. This happens when I
. apply Deactivate() on an activated SPSSPivot or SPSSNotes outputItem
. object.
. 
. Sometimes Spss just crashes without any error message.
. 
. Sometimes is generates an application error. I have attached some
. Dr.Watson debug dumps for you to check.
. 
. And like I said, it even works fine sometimes. This is unrelated to
. restarts or cold boots. But once it didn't work, it is unlikely to 
. work later in the same session.
. 
. The error also occurs on other computers and IIRC also with SPSS 8.0
. which we were running for a short time. The script AFAIK also worked on
. SPSS 7.x.
. 
. If it helped I could also send the python program or other information
. you need to you.
. 
. Regards,
. 	Bernhard Reiter

I received no answer on my followup to them, explaining again, why the error
is not on the python site.
	Bernhard
-- 
Research Assistant, Geog Dept UM-Milwaukee, USA.  (www.uwm.edu/~bernhard)
Free Software Projects and Consulting 		         (intevation.net)  
Association for a Free Informational Infrastructure            (ffii.org)