Error: VBScript runtime (0x800A01A8) Object required: '[object]'

[Carolyn Speakman]

Hi,

I'm trying to amend an intranet .asp page but keep getting this error.
The error only occurs when I pull the WHOLE intranet off the server
and try to run it locally. The error isn't there when the page is run
off the intranet server.

I'm using IIS 5, I.E. 6 and WinXP Pro.

Here's the code it doesn't like:

<%
cookieUsrUID = 0
'response.cookies("cookiePassCode") = 0
cookieUsrUID = request.cookies("cookieUsrUID")

' Get the URL for the RSS file first from the form, then from the
Cookie
RSS_URL = Request.Form("headlineURL")
If RSS_URL = "" Then
RSS_URL = Request.Cookies( "headlineURL" )
Else
Response.Cookies( "headlineURL" ) = RSS_URL
Response.Cookies( "headlineURL" ).Expires = "Dec 31, 2010"
End If
If RSS_URL = "" Then
' If it has not been defined, default it to the BBC front
page
RSS_URL = "http://news.bbc.co.uk/rss/newsonline_uk_edition/front_page/rss091.xml"
Response.Cookies( "headlineURL" ) = RSS_URL
Response.Cookies( "headlineURL" ).Expires = "Dec 31, 2010"
End If

%>

<!-- BLAH BLAH BLAH -->

<%
Set rssData = Server.CreateObject("MSXML2.DomDocument.4.0")
rssData.async = False
rssData.Load( RSS_URL )
If rssData.parseError.errorCode <> 0 Then
response.write reason
End If
Set rssHeader = rssData.getElementsByTagName("channel")

<!-- DOESN'T LIKE THIS LINE -->
lastUpdated = rssHeader.item(0).childNodes(4).text
<!-- ********************** -->

Set rssContent = rssData.getElementsByTagName("item")
rssRows = rssContent.length
%>

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I've been sat here for days!!

Thanks,
Carolyn

 

[Keith M. Corbett]

<!-- DOESN'T LIKE THIS LINE -->
lastUpdated = rssHeader.item(0).childNodes(4).text
<!-- ********************** -->

The VBScript runtime error "Object required" is roughly equivalent to an
invalid pointer exception in other languages.

The code assumes that rssHeader.item(0) returns a valid object (let's call
it X), and ditto for X.childNodes(4). Either of these method calls could
"fail" and return the null value. OTOH I forget how VBScript represents the
null value; you should be able to glean this info from any VBScript
reference.

Add some error checking, and/or take a look at the data, ie., experimental
values for the channel element and its sub-elements. See whether these
methods are returning valid objects, and if not, why not. The documentation
for MSXML DOM may be helpful in this regard.

Clearly your test runs on the server and local machine are getting data that
is structured differently. Perhaps this clue in and of itself will point to
a solution.

Hope this helps.

/kmc