Brian,

You don't need the Finder to verify file existence. Can't really  
explain the crash though unless it's some bizarre interaction with a  
symlink from httpd or maybe even a simple permissions error.

try
     set cgi to ("Macintosh HD:Library:Webserver:Documents:cgi- 
bin:nope.html") as alias
     return true
on error errs
     return false
end try



On 2006-06-09, at 12:57:34, Brian Johnson wrote:

> Update: On another 10.3.9 machine I do not get this error&crash. It  
> must be due to a configuration difference. Odd.

>> One of my Applescript CGIs has been producing odd results from  
>> time to time and I think I just figured out why...
>>
>> If you run OS 10.3.9, try this script (all one line, modify the  
>> vol if..):
>>
>> tell application "Finder" to exists file "Macintosh  
>> HD:Library:Webserver:Documents:cgi-bin:nope.html"
>>
>> (OMM this file does not exist, since there is no real 'cgi-bin'  
>> folder)
>>
>> When run in SE OMM the script causes SE to display a "Finder got  
>> an error: Connection Invalid" and then the Finder crashes.
>>
>> Now try various path and file names (existing or not). Most will  
>> correctly return false (or true) as appropriate, so long as the  
>> path doesn't imply the existence of a "cgi-bin" folder within (an  
>> existing) "Documents" folder. Those crash the Finder.
>>
>> On my 10.4.6 server this script properly returns false for the  
>> bogus file & folder, so either this was a bug that got fixed, or  
>> something more subtle in the configurations between these  
>> machines, but I thought it worth sharing.

Philip Aker
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