wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.

wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.

[Sven Bretfeld]

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Hi all

Since some weeks I have this strange error message while using quite
normal functions like newsticker-treeview and some others. I use the
same .emacs with three different machines, all of them running Emacs 23
under Ubuntu Lucid Lynx. The errors occur only on one machine.

Has anybody an idea what could be wrong or how I can find out?

Below I attach the debug message of newsticker-treeview. Other functions
have the same error "wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.".

Thanks for help

Sven


Debugger entered--Lisp error: (wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.)
  newsticker--stat-num-items(Telepolis\ \(german\) new immortal)
  apply(newsticker--stat-num-items Telepolis\ \(german\) (new immortal))
  newsticker--stat-num-items-for-group(Telepolis\ \(german\) new immortal)
  newsticker--treeview-tree-get-tag("Telepolis (german)" nil "feeds-0")
  #[(g) ".\b	\".	T.\v<ƒ2.\v@.Ç.É\f.\n#.Ì.Î.\vA.\f.\n).BBBBBBBBBBBBB‡.\v.\n#.Ó.
.Õ.\v.×.\n).BBBBBBBBBBB‡" [tree i nt-id g g-name tag newsticker--treeview-get-id tree-widget :tag newsticker--treeview-tree-get-tag nil :expander newsticker--treeview-tree-expand :expander-p (lambda ... t) :nt-group :nt-feed :nt-id (:keep ... :open nil) item :leaf-icon newsticker--tree-widget-leaf-icon :action newsticker--treeview-list-feed-items (:keep ... :open t)] 14]("Telepolis (german)")
  mapcar(#[(g) ".\b	\".	T.\v<ƒ2.\v@.Ç.É\f.\n#.Ì.Î.\vA.\f.\n).BBBBBBBBBBBBB‡.\v.\n#.Ó.
.Õ.\v.×.\n).BBBBBBBBBBB‡" [tree i nt-id g g-name tag newsticker--treeview-get-id tree-widget :tag newsticker--treeview-tree-get-tag nil :expander newsticker--treeview-tree-expand :expander-p (lambda ... t) :nt-group :nt-feed :nt-id (:keep ... :open nil) item :leaf-icon newsticker--tree-widget-leaf-icon :action newsticker--treeview-list-feed-items (:keep ... :open t)] 14] ("Telepolis (german)" "Tagesschau (german)" "Heise News (german)" "LWN (Linux Weekly News)" "Emacs Wiki" "Debian Security Advisories"))
  newsticker--treeview-tree-expand((tree-widget :args nil :expander newsticker--treeview-tree-expand :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 (mouse-face highlight help-echo "Feeds" :nt-vfeed nil :nt-feed nil :nt-id "feeds" keymap ... face newsticker-treeview-face)) :expander-p #[(&rest ignore) ".‡" [t] 1] :leaf-icon newsticker--tree-widget-leaf-icon :nt-group ("Telepolis (german)" "Tagesschau (german)" "Heise News (german)" "LWN (Linux Weekly News)" "Emacs Wiki" "Debian Security Advisories") :nt-id "feeds" :keep (:nt-id) :open t :node (item :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 ...))))
  widget-apply((tree-widget :args nil :expander newsticker--treeview-tree-expand :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 (mouse-face highlight help-echo "Feeds" :nt-vfeed nil :nt-feed nil :nt-id "feeds" keymap ... face newsticker-treeview-face)) :expander-p #[(&rest ignore) ".‡" [t] 1] :leaf-icon newsticker--tree-widget-leaf-icon :nt-group ("Telepolis (german)" "Tagesschau (german)" "Heise News (german)" "LWN (Linux Weekly News)" "Emacs Wiki" "Debian Security Advisories") :nt-id "feeds" :keep (:nt-id) :open t :node (item :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 ...))) :expander)
  tree-widget-value-create((tree-widget :args nil :expander newsticker--treeview-tree-expand :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 (mouse-face highlight help-echo "Feeds" :nt-vfeed nil :nt-feed nil :nt-id "feeds" keymap ... face newsticker-treeview-face)) :expander-p #[(&rest ignore) ".‡" [t] 1] :leaf-icon newsticker--tree-widget-leaf-icon :nt-group ("Telepolis (german)" "Tagesschau (german)" "Heise News (german)" "LWN (Linux Weekly News)" "Emacs Wiki" "Debian Security Advisories") :nt-id "feeds" :keep (:nt-id) :open t :node (item :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 ...))))
  widget-apply((tree-widget :args nil :expander newsticker--treeview-tree-expand :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 (mouse-face highlight help-echo "Feeds" :nt-vfeed nil :nt-feed nil :nt-id "feeds" keymap ... face newsticker-treeview-face)) :expander-p #[(&rest ignore) ".‡" [t] 1] :leaf-icon newsticker--tree-widget-leaf-icon :nt-group ("Telepolis (german)" "Tagesschau (german)" "Heise News (german)" "LWN (Linux Weekly News)" "Emacs Wiki" "Debian Security Advisories") :nt-id "feeds" :keep (:nt-id) :open t :node (item :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 ...))) :value-create)
  widget-default-create((tree-widget :args nil :expander newsticker--treeview-tree-expand :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 (mouse-face highlight help-echo "Feeds" :nt-vfeed nil :nt-feed nil :nt-id "feeds" keymap ... face newsticker-treeview-face)) :expander-p #[(&rest ignore) ".‡" [t] 1] :leaf-icon newsticker--tree-widget-leaf-icon :nt-group ("Telepolis (german)" "Tagesschau (german)" "Heise News (german)" "LWN (Linux Weekly News)" "Emacs Wiki" "Debian Security Advisories") :nt-id "feeds" :keep (:nt-id) :open t :node (item :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 ...))))
  widget-apply((tree-widget :args nil :expander newsticker--treeview-tree-expand :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 (mouse-face highlight help-echo "Feeds" :nt-vfeed nil :nt-feed nil :nt-id "feeds" keymap ... face newsticker-treeview-face)) :expander-p #[(&rest ignore) ".‡" [t] 1] :leaf-icon newsticker--tree-widget-leaf-icon :nt-group ("Telepolis (german)" "Tagesschau (german)" "Heise News (german)" "LWN (Linux Weekly News)" "Emacs Wiki" "Debian Security Advisories") :nt-id "feeds" :keep (:nt-id) :open t :node (item :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 ...))) :create)
  widget-create(tree-widget :tag #("Feeds" 0 5 (mouse-face highlight help-echo "Feeds" :nt-vfeed nil :nt-feed nil :nt-id "feeds" keymap (keymap ... ... ...) face newsticker-treeview-face)) :expander newsticker--treeview-tree-expand :expander-p #[(&rest ignore) ".‡" [t] 1] :leaf-icon newsticker--tree-widget-leaf-icon :nt-group ("Telepolis (german)" "Tagesschau (german)" "Heise News (german)" "LWN (Linux Weekly News)" "Emacs Wiki" "Debian Security Advisories") :nt-id "feeds" :keep (:nt-id) :open t)
  newsticker--treeview-tree-update()
  newsticker--treeview-buffer-init()
  newsticker-treeview()
  call-interactively(newsticker-treeview nil nil)


-- 
Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Sven Bretfeld

___________________________________
Prof. Dr. Sven Bretfeld
      \ CEntrum für
CERES  \ REligionswissenschaftliche
________\_Studien__________________
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Universitätsstraße 150
D-44780 Bochum
http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/ceres/de/organisation/beteiligte/sven_bretfeld.html

RE: wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.

[Drew Adams]

> Since some weeks I have this strange error message while using quite
> normal functions like newsticker-treeview and some others. I use the
> same .emacs with three different machines, all of them 
> running Emacs 23 under Ubuntu Lucid Lynx. The errors occur only on one
machine.
> 
> Has anybody an idea what could be wrong or how I can find out?
> Below I attach the debug message of newsticker-treeview. 
> Other functions have the same error "wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.".
>
> Debugger entered--Lisp error: (wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.)
>   newsticker--stat-num-items(Telepolis\ \(german\) new immortal)

To make sense of a debugger backtrace, first load the Lisp source files that are
concerned (e.g. newsticker.el), not the byte-compiled files (e.g.
newsticker.elc).

The error message is saying that function newsticker--stat-num-items expected a
list argument (i.e. nil or a cons), but it instead was passed a symbol whose
name is "...".

Be sure you have the same source code on the various platforms, for the files in
question. If newsticker uses some other file (e.g. a data file), then make sure
that file is also the same across platforms. 

HTH.  Probably someone else can help more - someone familiar with the newsticker
code, for instance.

Re: wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.

[Sven Bretfeld]

Hi Drew

That was fast help. Thanks.

"Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com> writes:

>> Debugger entered--Lisp error: (wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.)
>>   newsticker--stat-num-items(Telepolis\ \(german\) new immortal)
>
> To make sense of a debugger backtrace, first load the Lisp source files that are
> concerned (e.g. newsticker.el), not the byte-compiled files (e.g.
> newsticker.elc).
>
> The error message is saying that function newsticker--stat-num-items expected a
> list argument (i.e. nil or a cons), but it instead was passed a symbol whose
> name is "...".

To be exact, the same message also occurs with some other operations,
for example org-mobile-push. So I don't think it's an error connected to
newsticker.el. Something more general must be wrong. And I can't find
it. Is there really a symbol called "..."? Can it be an encoding
problem?

Below is a debug output of org-mobile-push.

Thanks,

Sven

Debugger entered--Lisp error: (wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.)
  car(\.\.\.)
  mapcar(car (("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" "cd2fdb6d-1ca6-45e7-b0d6-02044edcbbb9") ("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" "fdcc85e2-51c8-4d3d-827c-396687ca5a13") ("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" "a6a22b75-e0fe-44fb-b5d0-a61500218760") ("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" "2dce7212-3994-4ccc-a964-6569914fc17f") ("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" "177580d9-f0f0-472b-90d0-278bf503e07d") ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" "c4ceb0b6-b854-41ab-91b6-e3b1d40d8289") ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" "8850e02f-9e33-456b-8654-e55cf1604036") ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" "593cf7d5-5db7-4b39-bc7f-190c4acb4f51") ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" "f20acbfb-c03c-4b08-bd22-d1b614dc7688") ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" "c76519fa-c2ba-434c-b3e2-e3838b72e6e3") \.\.\.))
  (setq org-id-files (mapcar (quote car) org-id-locations))
  (progn (with-temp-buffer (condition-case nil ... ...)) (setq org-id-files (mapcar ... org-id-locations)) (setq org-id-locations (org-id-alist-to-hash org-id-locations)))
  (if org-id-track-globally (progn (with-temp-buffer ...) (setq org-id-files ...) (setq org-id-locations ...)))
  (when org-id-track-globally (with-temp-buffer (condition-case nil ... ...)) (setq org-id-files (mapcar ... org-id-locations)) (setq org-id-locations (org-id-alist-to-hash org-id-locations)))
  org-id-locations-load()
  (if org-id-locations nil (org-id-locations-load))
  (unless org-id-locations (org-id-locations-load))
  (progn (unless org-id-locations (org-id-locations-load)) (puthash id (abbreviate-file-name file) org-id-locations) (add-to-list (quote org-id-files) (abbreviate-file-name file)))
  (if (and org-id-track-globally id file) (progn (unless org-id-locations ...) (puthash id ... org-id-locations) (add-to-list ... ...)))
  (when (and org-id-track-globally id file) (unless org-id-locations (org-id-locations-load)) (puthash id (abbreviate-file-name file) org-id-locations) (add-to-list (quote org-id-files) (abbreviate-file-name file)))
  org-id-add-location("86c9cbbf-a8de-469a-a755-9850997e342d" "/home/sven/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org")
  (cond ((and id ... ...) id) (create (setq id ...) (org-entry-put pom "ID" id) (org-id-add-location id ...) id) (t nil))
  (let ((id ...)) (cond (... id) (create ... ... ... id) (t nil)))
  (save-excursion (goto-char (or pom ...)) (let (...) (cond ... ... ...)))
  (save-excursion (if (markerp pom) (set-buffer ...)) (save-excursion (goto-char ...) (let ... ...)))
  (org-with-point-at pom (let (...) (cond ... ... ...)))
  org-id-get(#<marker at 104 in mygtd.org> create)
  (if (org-bound-and-true-p org-mobile-force-id-on-agenda-items) (org-id-get m (quote create)) (org-entry-get m "ID"))
  (setq id (if (org-bound-and-true-p org-mobile-force-id-on-agenda-items) (org-id-get m ...) (org-entry-get m "ID")))
  (if (setq id (if ... ... ...)) (progn (insert "   :PROPERTIES:\n   :ORIGINAL_ID: " id "\n   :END:\n")))
  (when (setq id (if ... ... ...)) (insert "   :PROPERTIES:\n   :ORIGINAL_ID: " id "\n   :END:\n"))
  (if sexp nil (insert (org-agenda-get-some-entry-text m 10 "   " ...) "\n") (when (setq id ...) (insert "   :PROPERTIES:\n   :ORIGINAL_ID: " id "\n   :END:\n")))
  (unless sexp (insert (org-agenda-get-some-entry-text m 10 "   " ...) "\n") (when (setq id ...) (insert "   :PROPERTIES:\n   :ORIGINAL_ID: " id "\n   :END:\n")))
  (cond ((looking-at "[ 	]*$")) ((looking-at "=+$") (delete-region ... ...)) ((get-text-property ... ...) (setq in-date nil) (setq app ...) (setq short ...) (when ... ... ...) (when app ... ... ...) (insert "* ")) ((get-text-property ... ...) (setq in-date t) (insert "** ")) ((setq m ...) (setq sexp ...) (if ... ... ...) (insert ...) (end-of-line 1) (insert "\n") (unless sexp ... ...)))
  (while (not (eobp)) (cond (...) (... ...) (... ... ... ... ... ... ...) (... ... ...) (... ... ... ... ... ... ...)) (beginning-of-line 2))
  (save-current-buffer (set-buffer temp-buffer) (org-mode) (insert "#+READONLY\n") (insert all) (goto-char (point-min)) (while (not ...) (cond ... ... ... ... ...) (beginning-of-line 2)) (push (cons ... ...) org-mobile-checksum-files))
  (with-current-buffer temp-buffer (org-mode) (insert "#+READONLY\n") (insert all) (goto-char (point-min)) (while (not ...) (cond ... ... ... ... ...) (beginning-of-line 2)) (push (cons ... ...) org-mobile-checksum-files))
  (prog1 (with-current-buffer temp-buffer (org-mode) (insert "#+READONLY\n") (insert all) (goto-char ...) (while ... ... ...) (push ... org-mobile-checksum-files)) (with-current-buffer temp-buffer (write-region nil nil temp-file nil 0)))
  (unwind-protect (prog1 (with-current-buffer temp-buffer ... ... ... ... ... ...) (with-current-buffer temp-buffer ...)) (and (buffer-name temp-buffer) (kill-buffer temp-buffer)))
  (let ((temp-file file) (temp-buffer ...)) (unwind-protect (prog1 ... ...) (and ... ...)))
  (with-temp-file file (org-mode) (insert "#+READONLY\n") (insert all) (goto-char (point-min)) (while (not ...) (cond ... ... ... ... ...) (beginning-of-line 2)) (push (cons ... ...) org-mobile-checksum-files))
  (let ((all ...) in-date id pl prefix line app short m sexp) (with-temp-file file (org-mode) (insert "#+READONLY\n") (insert all) (goto-char ...) (while ... ... ...) (push ... org-mobile-checksum-files)) (message "Agenda written to Org file %s" file))
  org-mobile-write-agenda-for-mobile("/home/sven/webdav/org/agendas.org")
  (cond ((org-bound-and-true-p org-mobile-creating-agendas) (org-mobile-write-agenda-for-mobile file)) ((string-match "\\.html?\\'" file) (set-buffer ...) (when ... ... ... ...) (write-file file) (kill-buffer ...) (message "HTML written to %s" file)) ((string-match "\\.ps\\'" file) (require ...) (flet ... ...) (message "Postscript written to %s" file)) ((string-match "\\.pdf\\'" file) (require ...) (flet ... ...) (call-process "ps2pdf" nil nil nil ... ...) (message "PDF written to %s" file)) ((string-match "\\.ics\\'" file) (require ...) (let ... ...)) (t (let ... ... ... ... ... ... ...)))
  (progn (insert bs) (org-agenda-remove-marked-text (quote org-filtered)) (while (setq beg ...) (delete-region beg ...)) (run-hooks (quote org-agenda-before-write-hook)) (cond (... ...) (... ... ... ... ... ...) (... ... ... ...) (... ... ... ... ...) (... ... ...) (t ...)))
  (unwind-protect (progn (insert bs) (org-agenda-remove-marked-text ...) (while ... ...) (run-hooks ...) (cond ... ... ... ... ... ...)) (and (buffer-name temp-buffer) (kill-buffer temp-buffer)))
  (save-current-buffer (set-buffer temp-buffer) (unwind-protect (progn ... ... ... ... ...) (and ... ...)))
  (with-current-buffer temp-buffer (unwind-protect (progn ... ... ... ... ...) (and ... ...)))
  (let ((temp-buffer ...)) (with-current-buffer temp-buffer (unwind-protect ... ...)))
  (with-temp-buffer (insert bs) (org-agenda-remove-marked-text (quote org-filtered)) (while (setq beg ...) (delete-region beg ...)) (run-hooks (quote org-agenda-before-write-hook)) (cond (... ...) (... ... ... ... ... ...) (... ... ... ...) (... ... ... ... ...) (... ... ...) (t ...)))
  (let ((bs ...) beg) (org-agenda-unmark-filtered-text) (with-temp-buffer (insert bs) (org-agenda-remove-marked-text ...) (while ... ...) (run-hooks ...) (cond ... ... ... ... ... ...)))
  (save-window-excursion (org-agenda-mark-filtered-text) (let (... beg) (org-agenda-unmark-filtered-text) (with-temp-buffer ... ... ... ... ...)))
  (save-excursion (save-window-excursion (org-agenda-mark-filtered-text) (let ... ... ...)))
  (let nil (save-excursion (save-window-excursion ... ...)) #<buffer *SUMO*>)
  eval((let nil (save-excursion (save-window-excursion ... ...)) #<buffer *SUMO*>))
  org-let(nil (save-excursion (save-window-excursion (org-agenda-mark-filtered-text) (let ... ... ...))) #<buffer *SUMO*>)
  org-write-agenda("/home/sven/webdav/org/agendas.org" nil t)
  (let ((org-agenda-compact-blocks nil)) (org-write-agenda "/home/sven/webdav/org/agendas.org" nil t))
  eval((let ((org-agenda-compact-blocks nil)) (org-write-agenda "/home/sven/webdav/org/agendas.org" nil t)))
  (while files (eval (list ... ... ...)))
  (progn (eval (list ... ... ...)) (set-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (while files (eval ...)) (and (get-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (kill-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name)))
  (if files (progn (eval ...) (set-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (while files ...) (and ... ...)))
  (when files (eval (list ... ... ...)) (set-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (while files (eval ...)) (and (get-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (kill-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name)))
  (while cmds (setq cmd (pop cmds) thiscmdkey (car cmd) cmd-or-set (nth 2 cmd) opts (nth ... cmd) files (nth ... cmd)) (if (stringp files) (setq files ...)) (when files (eval ...) (set-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (while files ...) (and ... ...)))
  (save-window-excursion (while cmds (setq cmd ... thiscmdkey ... cmd-or-set ... opts ... files ...) (if ... ...) (when files ... ... ... ...)))
  (let ((cmds ...) (pop-up-frames nil) (dir default-directory) pars cmd thiscmdkey files opts cmd-or-set) (while parameters (push ... pars)) (setq pars (reverse pars)) (save-window-excursion (while cmds ... ... ...)))
  (lambda (&rest parameters) "Run all custom agenda commands that have a file argument." (let (... ... ... pars cmd thiscmdkey files opts cmd-or-set) (while parameters ...) (setq pars ...) (save-window-excursion ...)))()
  (org-batch-store-agenda-views)
  eval((org-batch-store-agenda-views))
  org-store-agenda-views()
  (progn (org-store-agenda-views))
  (if sumo (progn (org-store-agenda-views)))
  (when sumo (org-store-agenda-views))
  (let* ((file ...) (file1 ...) (sumo ...) (org-agenda-custom-commands ...) (org-mobile-creating-agendas t)) (unless (file-writable-p file1) (error "Cannot write to file %s" file1)) (when sumo (org-store-agenda-views)) (when org-mobile-use-encryption (org-mobile-encrypt-file file1 file) (delete-file file1)))
  org-mobile-create-sumo-agenda()
  (let ((inhibit-redisplay t)) (org-mobile-create-sumo-agenda))
  (save-window-excursion (org-mobile-check-setup) (org-mobile-prepare-file-lists) (run-hooks (quote org-mobile-pre-push-hook)) (message "Creating agendas...") (let (...) (org-mobile-create-sumo-agenda)) (message "Creating agendas...done") (org-save-all-org-buffers) (message "Copying files...") (org-mobile-copy-agenda-files) (message "Writing index file...") (org-mobile-create-index-file) (message "Writing checksums...") (org-mobile-write-checksums) (run-hooks (quote org-mobile-post-push-hook)))
  (save-excursion (save-window-excursion (org-mobile-check-setup) (org-mobile-prepare-file-lists) (run-hooks ...) (message "Creating agendas...") (let ... ...) (message "Creating agendas...done") (org-save-all-org-buffers) (message "Copying files...") (org-mobile-copy-agenda-files) (message "Writing index file...") (org-mobile-create-index-file) (message "Writing checksums...") (org-mobile-write-checksums) (run-hooks ...)))
  (let ((org-agenda-buffer-name "*SUMO*") (org-agenda-filter org-agenda-filter) (org-agenda-redo-command org-agenda-redo-command)) (save-excursion (save-window-excursion ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...)))
  (let ((a-buffer ...)) (let (... ... ...) (save-excursion ...)) (redraw-display) (when (and a-buffer ...) (if ... ... ...)))
  org-mobile-push()
  call-interactively(org-mobile-push nil nil)


>
> Be sure you have the same source code on the various platforms, for the files in
> question. If newsticker uses some other file (e.g. a data file), then make sure
> that file is also the same across platforms. 
>
> HTH.  Probably someone else can help more - someone familiar with the newsticker
> code, for instance.
>



-- 
Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Sven Bretfeld

___________________________________
Prof. Dr. Sven Bretfeld
      \ CEntrum für
CERES  \ REligionswissenschaftliche
________\_Studien__________________
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Universitätsstraße 150
D-44780 Bochum
http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/ceres/de/organisation/beteiligte/sven_bretfeld.html

RE: wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.

[Drew Adams]

> > To make sense of a debugger backtrace, first load the Lisp 
> > source files that are concerned (e.g. newsticker.el), not
> > the byte-compiled files (e.g. newsticker.elc).
> >
> > The error message is saying that function
> > newsticker--stat-num-items expected a list argument (i.e.
> > nil or a cons), but it instead was passed a symbol whose
> > name is "...".
> 
> To be exact, the same message also occurs with some other operations,
> for example org-mobile-push. So I don't think it's an error 
> connected to newsticker.el. Something more general must be wrong.
> And I can't find it.

In that case, you need to use a binary search, to narrow things down. Split your
.emacs or your `custom-file' in half by commenting out half. or just
`eval-region' of half. or some such. That makes your problem half as big.
Repeat (half of half; half of half of half; etc.).  It's very quick.

The alternative is what you're doing now: trying to shake everything together in
a giant sack and divine what the culprit might be.  Narrow it down, and the
culprit will stand out.

> Is there really a symbol called "..."?

Well, you can see that yourself from the call `car(\.\.\.)' in your backtrace.

The backtrace shows `mapcar' applying `car' to a list whose last item is the
symbol `...' (not a list):

>   mapcar(car (("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" 
> "cd2fdb6d-1ca6-45e7-b0d6-02044edcbbb9") 
...
> ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" 
> "c76519fa-c2ba-434c-b3e2-e3838b72e6e3") \.\.\.))

--this list item is a symbol, not a list-----^

Look at the code that creates the list in question.  In this case, the list is
`org-id-locations': `(mapcar (quote car) org-id-locations))'

But _start_ by narrowing things down.  Throw out org, newsticker etc., until you
know just what is causing the problem.  Split the unknown by half N times and it
becomes a tiny unknown.

And, as I suggested, check to see if some common data file is used, which might
be corrupted.  If those programs all share a common data file, that could be the
culprit.  This smells of something like a corrupted desktop, session, or
save-history file.

It would be sufficient for some program to incorrectly save data to such a file.
From then on, other code would be reading crap from the file and trying to make
sense of it.

The other thing that suggests this is that you are (presumably) using the same
source code on different platforms.  But you might well be using different data
(e.g. history) files...  See what I wrote before (at the end).

> Can it be an encoding problem?

I know nothing about encoding; sorry.  Don't guess blindly; narrow it down
systematically. Binary search is _very_ rapid.

> Below is a debug output of org-mobile-push.
> 
> Debugger entered--Lisp error: (wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.)
>   car(\.\.\.)
>   mapcar(car (("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" 
> "cd2fdb6d-1ca6-45e7-b0d6-02044edcbbb9") 
> ("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" 
> "fdcc85e2-51c8-4d3d-827c-396687ca5a13") 
...
> ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" 
> "f20acbfb-c03c-4b08-bd22-d1b614dc7688") 
> ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" 
> "c76519fa-c2ba-434c-b3e2-e3838b72e6e3") \.\.\.))
>   (setq org-id-files (mapcar (quote car) org-id-locations))

Did you do the following?

> > Be sure you have the same source code on the various 
> > platforms, for the files in question. If newsticker uses
> > some other file (e.g. a data file), then make sure
> > that file is also the same across platforms. 

Re: wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.

[Sven Bretfeld]

Hi Drew 

"Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com> writes:

> And, as I suggested, check to see if some common data file is used, which might
> be corrupted.  If those programs all share a common data file, that could be the
> culprit.  This smells of something like a corrupted desktop, session, or
> save-history file.

That was the problem. After I spend two hours narrowing down .emacs to
zero, purging and reinstalling every Emacs related package, I just
remembered your last suggestion and emptied ~/.emacs.d. Now, everything
is working again. Stupid me!

Thank you very much for your help.

Sven

RE: wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.

[Drew Adams]

> > And, as I suggested, check to see if some common data file 
> > is used, which might be corrupted.  If those programs all
> > share a common data file, that could be the culprit.  This
> > smells of something like a corrupted desktop, session, or
> > save-history file.
> 
> That was the problem. After I spend two hours narrowing down .emacs to
> zero, purging and reinstalling every Emacs related package, I just
> remembered your last suggestion and emptied ~/.emacs.d. Now, 
> everything is working again.

Glad you found the problem.  No need to reinstall packages.  It's enough to
(temporarily) not reference (load) them.

It's about comparing two thingies over and over: one that works and one that
doesn't, and narrowing the difference until you find the problem.  Instead of
starting with a full sack that manifests the problem, and chopping the contents
in half (and half...), you can start with an empty sack (emacs -Q) and add half
(and half...).  Meme combat.

>  Stupid me!  Thank you very much for your help.

Nothing stupid about having such a problem or trying to guess what the cause is.
All too human.

That's why I replied - because we all go through this.  It's a lesson we seem to
need to relearn over and over.  Partly because, I think, we imagine that
everything was working so well together and there is so much of it and it is so
complex - we want to disturb that previously working set as little as possible.

We think, well, maybe it's just this little thing - or that one - or maybe that
one.  We feel that searching systematically would be a bit brute and blind, and
we imagine that it could take a while.

Well, being systematic, brute, and blind is in fact its strong point!  When you
haven't a clue, being systematic is smart (and grasping for straws is not).  It
is only binary search that saves such an approach from being stupid -
systematic, but fast.

Re: wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.

[Sven Bretfeld]

Hi Drew

That was fast help. Thanks.

"Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com> writes:

>> Debugger entered--Lisp error: (wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.)
>>   newsticker--stat-num-items(Telepolis\ \(german\) new immortal)
>
> To make sense of a debugger backtrace, first load the Lisp source files that are
> concerned (e.g. newsticker.el), not the byte-compiled files (e.g.
> newsticker.elc).
>
> The error message is saying that function newsticker--stat-num-items expected a
> list argument (i.e. nil or a cons), but it instead was passed a symbol whose
> name is "...".

To be exact, the same message also occurs with some other operations,
for example org-mobile-push. So I don't think it's an error connected to
newsticker.el. Something more general must be wrong. And I can't find
it. Is there really a symbol called "..."? Can it be an encoding
problem?

Below is a debug output of org-mobile-push.

Thanks,

Sven

Debugger entered--Lisp error: (wrong-type-argument listp \.\.\.)
  car(\.\.\.)
  mapcar(car (("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" "cd2fdb6d-1ca6-45e7-b0d6-02044edcbbb9") ("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" "fdcc85e2-51c8-4d3d-827c-396687ca5a13") ("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" "a6a22b75-e0fe-44fb-b5d0-a61500218760") ("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" "2dce7212-3994-4ccc-a964-6569914fc17f") ("~/aktuell/myconf/from-mobile.org" "177580d9-f0f0-472b-90d0-278bf503e07d") ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" "c4ceb0b6-b854-41ab-91b6-e3b1d40d8289") ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" "8850e02f-9e33-456b-8654-e55cf1604036") ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" "593cf7d5-5db7-4b39-bc7f-190c4acb4f51") ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" "f20acbfb-c03c-4b08-bd22-d1b614dc7688") ("~/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org" "c76519fa-c2ba-434c-b3e2-e3838b72e6e3") \.\.\.))
  (setq org-id-files (mapcar (quote car) org-id-locations))
  (progn (with-temp-buffer (condition-case nil ... ...)) (setq org-id-files (mapcar ... org-id-locations)) (setq org-id-locations (org-id-alist-to-hash org-id-locations)))
  (if org-id-track-globally (progn (with-temp-buffer ...) (setq org-id-files ...) (setq org-id-locations ...)))
  (when org-id-track-globally (with-temp-buffer (condition-case nil ... ...)) (setq org-id-files (mapcar ... org-id-locations)) (setq org-id-locations (org-id-alist-to-hash org-id-locations)))
  org-id-locations-load()
  (if org-id-locations nil (org-id-locations-load))
  (unless org-id-locations (org-id-locations-load))
  (progn (unless org-id-locations (org-id-locations-load)) (puthash id (abbreviate-file-name file) org-id-locations) (add-to-list (quote org-id-files) (abbreviate-file-name file)))
  (if (and org-id-track-globally id file) (progn (unless org-id-locations ...) (puthash id ... org-id-locations) (add-to-list ... ...)))
  (when (and org-id-track-globally id file) (unless org-id-locations (org-id-locations-load)) (puthash id (abbreviate-file-name file) org-id-locations) (add-to-list (quote org-id-files) (abbreviate-file-name file)))
  org-id-add-location("86c9cbbf-a8de-469a-a755-9850997e342d" "/home/sven/aktuell/myconf/mygtd.org")
  (cond ((and id ... ...) id) (create (setq id ...) (org-entry-put pom "ID" id) (org-id-add-location id ...) id) (t nil))
  (let ((id ...)) (cond (... id) (create ... ... ... id) (t nil)))
  (save-excursion (goto-char (or pom ...)) (let (...) (cond ... ... ...)))
  (save-excursion (if (markerp pom) (set-buffer ...)) (save-excursion (goto-char ...) (let ... ...)))
  (org-with-point-at pom (let (...) (cond ... ... ...)))
  org-id-get(#<marker at 104 in mygtd.org> create)
  (if (org-bound-and-true-p org-mobile-force-id-on-agenda-items) (org-id-get m (quote create)) (org-entry-get m "ID"))
  (setq id (if (org-bound-and-true-p org-mobile-force-id-on-agenda-items) (org-id-get m ...) (org-entry-get m "ID")))
  (if (setq id (if ... ... ...)) (progn (insert "   :PROPERTIES:\n   :ORIGINAL_ID: " id "\n   :END:\n")))
  (when (setq id (if ... ... ...)) (insert "   :PROPERTIES:\n   :ORIGINAL_ID: " id "\n   :END:\n"))
  (if sexp nil (insert (org-agenda-get-some-entry-text m 10 "   " ...) "\n") (when (setq id ...) (insert "   :PROPERTIES:\n   :ORIGINAL_ID: " id "\n   :END:\n")))
  (unless sexp (insert (org-agenda-get-some-entry-text m 10 "   " ...) "\n") (when (setq id ...) (insert "   :PROPERTIES:\n   :ORIGINAL_ID: " id "\n   :END:\n")))
  (cond ((looking-at "[ 	]*$")) ((looking-at "=+$") (delete-region ... ...)) ((get-text-property ... ...) (setq in-date nil) (setq app ...) (setq short ...) (when ... ... ...) (when app ... ... ...) (insert "* ")) ((get-text-property ... ...) (setq in-date t) (insert "** ")) ((setq m ...) (setq sexp ...) (if ... ... ...) (insert ...) (end-of-line 1) (insert "\n") (unless sexp ... ...)))
  (while (not (eobp)) (cond (...) (... ...) (... ... ... ... ... ... ...) (... ... ...) (... ... ... ... ... ... ...)) (beginning-of-line 2))
  (save-current-buffer (set-buffer temp-buffer) (org-mode) (insert "#+READONLY\n") (insert all) (goto-char (point-min)) (while (not ...) (cond ... ... ... ... ...) (beginning-of-line 2)) (push (cons ... ...) org-mobile-checksum-files))
  (with-current-buffer temp-buffer (org-mode) (insert "#+READONLY\n") (insert all) (goto-char (point-min)) (while (not ...) (cond ... ... ... ... ...) (beginning-of-line 2)) (push (cons ... ...) org-mobile-checksum-files))
  (prog1 (with-current-buffer temp-buffer (org-mode) (insert "#+READONLY\n") (insert all) (goto-char ...) (while ... ... ...) (push ... org-mobile-checksum-files)) (with-current-buffer temp-buffer (write-region nil nil temp-file nil 0)))
  (unwind-protect (prog1 (with-current-buffer temp-buffer ... ... ... ... ... ...) (with-current-buffer temp-buffer ...)) (and (buffer-name temp-buffer) (kill-buffer temp-buffer)))
  (let ((temp-file file) (temp-buffer ...)) (unwind-protect (prog1 ... ...) (and ... ...)))
  (with-temp-file file (org-mode) (insert "#+READONLY\n") (insert all) (goto-char (point-min)) (while (not ...) (cond ... ... ... ... ...) (beginning-of-line 2)) (push (cons ... ...) org-mobile-checksum-files))
  (let ((all ...) in-date id pl prefix line app short m sexp) (with-temp-file file (org-mode) (insert "#+READONLY\n") (insert all) (goto-char ...) (while ... ... ...) (push ... org-mobile-checksum-files)) (message "Agenda written to Org file %s" file))
  org-mobile-write-agenda-for-mobile("/home/sven/webdav/org/agendas.org")
  (cond ((org-bound-and-true-p org-mobile-creating-agendas) (org-mobile-write-agenda-for-mobile file)) ((string-match "\\.html?\\'" file) (set-buffer ...) (when ... ... ... ...) (write-file file) (kill-buffer ...) (message "HTML written to %s" file)) ((string-match "\\.ps\\'" file) (require ...) (flet ... ...) (message "Postscript written to %s" file)) ((string-match "\\.pdf\\'" file) (require ...) (flet ... ...) (call-process "ps2pdf" nil nil nil ... ...) (message "PDF written to %s" file)) ((string-match "\\.ics\\'" file) (require ...) (let ... ...)) (t (let ... ... ... ... ... ... ...)))
  (progn (insert bs) (org-agenda-remove-marked-text (quote org-filtered)) (while (setq beg ...) (delete-region beg ...)) (run-hooks (quote org-agenda-before-write-hook)) (cond (... ...) (... ... ... ... ... ...) (... ... ... ...) (... ... ... ... ...) (... ... ...) (t ...)))
  (unwind-protect (progn (insert bs) (org-agenda-remove-marked-text ...) (while ... ...) (run-hooks ...) (cond ... ... ... ... ... ...)) (and (buffer-name temp-buffer) (kill-buffer temp-buffer)))
  (save-current-buffer (set-buffer temp-buffer) (unwind-protect (progn ... ... ... ... ...) (and ... ...)))
  (with-current-buffer temp-buffer (unwind-protect (progn ... ... ... ... ...) (and ... ...)))
  (let ((temp-buffer ...)) (with-current-buffer temp-buffer (unwind-protect ... ...)))
  (with-temp-buffer (insert bs) (org-agenda-remove-marked-text (quote org-filtered)) (while (setq beg ...) (delete-region beg ...)) (run-hooks (quote org-agenda-before-write-hook)) (cond (... ...) (... ... ... ... ... ...) (... ... ... ...) (... ... ... ... ...) (... ... ...) (t ...)))
  (let ((bs ...) beg) (org-agenda-unmark-filtered-text) (with-temp-buffer (insert bs) (org-agenda-remove-marked-text ...) (while ... ...) (run-hooks ...) (cond ... ... ... ... ... ...)))
  (save-window-excursion (org-agenda-mark-filtered-text) (let (... beg) (org-agenda-unmark-filtered-text) (with-temp-buffer ... ... ... ... ...)))
  (save-excursion (save-window-excursion (org-agenda-mark-filtered-text) (let ... ... ...)))
  (let nil (save-excursion (save-window-excursion ... ...)) #<buffer *SUMO*>)
  eval((let nil (save-excursion (save-window-excursion ... ...)) #<buffer *SUMO*>))
  org-let(nil (save-excursion (save-window-excursion (org-agenda-mark-filtered-text) (let ... ... ...))) #<buffer *SUMO*>)
  org-write-agenda("/home/sven/webdav/org/agendas.org" nil t)
  (let ((org-agenda-compact-blocks nil)) (org-write-agenda "/home/sven/webdav/org/agendas.org" nil t))
  eval((let ((org-agenda-compact-blocks nil)) (org-write-agenda "/home/sven/webdav/org/agendas.org" nil t)))
  (while files (eval (list ... ... ...)))
  (progn (eval (list ... ... ...)) (set-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (while files (eval ...)) (and (get-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (kill-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name)))
  (if files (progn (eval ...) (set-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (while files ...) (and ... ...)))
  (when files (eval (list ... ... ...)) (set-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (while files (eval ...)) (and (get-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (kill-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name)))
  (while cmds (setq cmd (pop cmds) thiscmdkey (car cmd) cmd-or-set (nth 2 cmd) opts (nth ... cmd) files (nth ... cmd)) (if (stringp files) (setq files ...)) (when files (eval ...) (set-buffer org-agenda-buffer-name) (while files ...) (and ... ...)))
  (save-window-excursion (while cmds (setq cmd ... thiscmdkey ... cmd-or-set ... opts ... files ...) (if ... ...) (when files ... ... ... ...)))
  (let ((cmds ...) (pop-up-frames nil) (dir default-directory) pars cmd thiscmdkey files opts cmd-or-set) (while parameters (push ... pars)) (setq pars (reverse pars)) (save-window-excursion (while cmds ... ... ...)))
  (lambda (&rest parameters) "Run all custom agenda commands that have a file argument." (let (... ... ... pars cmd thiscmdkey files opts cmd-or-set) (while parameters ...) (setq pars ...) (save-window-excursion ...)))()
  (org-batch-store-agenda-views)
  eval((org-batch-store-agenda-views))
  org-store-agenda-views()
  (progn (org-store-agenda-views))
  (if sumo (progn (org-store-agenda-views)))
  (when sumo (org-store-agenda-views))
  (let* ((file ...) (file1 ...) (sumo ...) (org-agenda-custom-commands ...) (org-mobile-creating-agendas t)) (unless (file-writable-p file1) (error "Cannot write to file %s" file1)) (when sumo (org-store-agenda-views)) (when org-mobile-use-encryption (org-mobile-encrypt-file file1 file) (delete-file file1)))
  org-mobile-create-sumo-agenda()
  (let ((inhibit-redisplay t)) (org-mobile-create-sumo-agenda))
  (save-window-excursion (org-mobile-check-setup) (org-mobile-prepare-file-lists) (run-hooks (quote org-mobile-pre-push-hook)) (message "Creating agendas...") (let (...) (org-mobile-create-sumo-agenda)) (message "Creating agendas...done") (org-save-all-org-buffers) (message "Copying files...") (org-mobile-copy-agenda-files) (message "Writing index file...") (org-mobile-create-index-file) (message "Writing checksums...") (org-mobile-write-checksums) (run-hooks (quote org-mobile-post-push-hook)))
  (save-excursion (save-window-excursion (org-mobile-check-setup) (org-mobile-prepare-file-lists) (run-hooks ...) (message "Creating agendas...") (let ... ...) (message "Creating agendas...done") (org-save-all-org-buffers) (message "Copying files...") (org-mobile-copy-agenda-files) (message "Writing index file...") (org-mobile-create-index-file) (message "Writing checksums...") (org-mobile-write-checksums) (run-hooks ...)))
  (let ((org-agenda-buffer-name "*SUMO*") (org-agenda-filter org-agenda-filter) (org-agenda-redo-command org-agenda-redo-command)) (save-excursion (save-window-excursion ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...)))
  (let ((a-buffer ...)) (let (... ... ...) (save-excursion ...)) (redraw-display) (when (and a-buffer ...) (if ... ... ...)))
  org-mobile-push()
  call-interactively(org-mobile-push nil nil)