j-Pilot 1.8.2 error/entry detected in var/log/debug
Hello:
Using j-Pilot 1.8.2 under Linux Devuan with a backported kernel:
user@devuan:~$ jpilot -v
J-Pilot version 1.8.2
Copyright (C) 1999-2014 by Judd Montgomery
judd@jpilot.org, http://jpilot.org
J-Pilot comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY; for details see the file
COPYING included with the source code, or in /usr/share/docs/jpilot/.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation; version 2 of the License.
Date compiled Jun 9 2017 07:18:17
Compiled with these options:
Installed Path - /usr
pilot-link version - 0.12.5
USB support - yes
Private record support - yes
Datebk support - yes
Plugin support - yes
Manana support - yes
NLS support (foreign languages) - yes
GTK2 support - yes
user@devuan:~$
—
user@devuan:~$ uname -a
Linux devuan 5.10.0-0.deb10.16-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 5.10.127-2~bpo10+1 (2022-07-28) x86_64 GNU/Linux
user@devuan:~$
—
Seems to work properly.
While doing a routine inspection of log files, something I do every so often (blue moon and such … ) I came acrosss this in /var/log/debug :
—
Sep 19 09:04:02 localhost kernel: [ 7345.026875] usb 7-1: usbfs: USBDEVFS_CONTROL failed cmd jpilot rqt 194 rq 4 len 20 ret -71
Sep 19 09:04:02 localhost kernel: [ 7345.027868] usb 7-1: usbfs: USBDEVFS_CONTROL failed cmd jpilot rqt 194 rq 4 len 20 ret -71
Sep 19 09:04:02 localhost kernel: [ 7345.028879] usb 7-1: usbfs: USBDEVFS_CONTROL failed cmd jpilot rqt 194 rq 4 len 20 ret -71
—
It is repeatable, happens every time I sync my Palm T|X to j-Pilot.
Looking at older /var/log/debug files I see that it is not new, the only difference seems to be the port USB bus that is used when I plugged the T|X in to sync.
eg:
Sep 12 11:24:27 localhost kernel: [12580.745308] usb 2-2.3: usbfs: USBDEVFS_CONTROL failed cmd jpilot rqt 194 rq 4 len 20 ret -108
The *common* part in all the log entries is this:
usbfs: USBDEVFS_CONTROL failed cmd jpilot rqt 194 rq 4 len 20
Seems that this instruction is failing? —> jpilot rqt 194 rq 4 len 20
Any idea as to the importance/severity/consequences of this and how to fix it?
Thanks in advance,
Best,
JHM
On 9/19/22, sawbona@gmx.net sawbona@gmx.net wrote:
... Using j-Pilot 1.8.2 under Linux Devuan with a backported kernel ...
I came acrosss this in /var/log/debug ...
Sep 19 09:04:02 localhost kernel: [ 7345.026875] usb 7-1: usbfs: USBDEVFS_CONTROL failed cmd jpilot rqt 194 rq 4 len 20 ret -71
Sep 19 09:04:02 localhost kernel: [ 7345.028879] usb 7-1: usbfs: USBDEVFS_CONTROL failed cmd jpilot rqt 194 rq 4 len 20 ret -71
... It is repeatable, happens every time I sync my Palm T|X to j-Pilot.
Hi. Thank you for your email!
As long as both your Palm and J-Pilot report that the sync operation
was successful, I don't think it's anything you need to worry about.
However, it's probably at least a cosmetic bug. It would be better if
J-Pilot did not add to your log files (and possibly also your dmesg
buffer) with ominous-sounding failure notices. If you ever try the
latest version of J-Pilot and still experience the problem, please
file a bug report.
https://github.com/juddmon/jpilot/issues
I'm not sure that J-Pilot 1.8.x is maintained anymore. Unless someone
else tells you otherwise, please try to avoid filing bug reports
against J-Pilot 1.8.x. The only time I would definitely like for you
to file a bug report against J-Pilot 1.8.x is if the bug is
significant (for example, it causes significant data loss).
I've installed J-Pilot 2.x. It seems to work well already. I would
encourage you to try it, if you have not yet done so. If you dislike
it for some reason, you can downgrade. If you wish, you can also open
an issue report to tell us why you disliked it.
Hello:
You’re welcome.
The latest j-Pilot package available for my distribution (64bit Devuan Linux) is 1.8.2-2, which is the one I have installed.
When the next version came out, I upgraded and had a number of severe issues with the on-screen rendering and after not being able to deal with it, I went back to the previous version which I am still using as it is (apparently) working properly.
I don’t know if the latest version of j-Pilot has a dependency on systemd, hopefully it does not. If it does I’d respectfully suggest to Judd to roll that back as it is a sure recipe for trouble, now or further on.
That said, I have been using j-Pilot for many years now, certainly as far back as 2009, and it always worked perfectly well from the very first time I installed it in one of my Linux boxes.
In fact, I only started running *all* my machines on Linux when I was certain I could sync my old Palm III* to them.
j-Pilot and Pegasus Mail were the deal breakers to go to a 100% Linux environment.
j-Pilot has always been *stable* and *reliable* with very few issues in all these years: the only time I had to roll back to a previous version was on the upgrade from 1.8.2-2.
If the latest version is not in the Debian repository it most probably won’t make it into the Devuan repository as Devuan uses what is available there and makes the necessary systemd adjustments if needed.
If the package cannot be run without systemd, it is not included in the repository.
Thanks for your input.
Best,
JHM
*Now retired. That PIII and two PIIIxes still work perfectly well.
On 9/20/22, sawbona@gmx.net sawbona@gmx.net wrote:
... The latest j-Pilot package available for my distribution (64bit Devuan
Linux) is 1.8.2-2, which is the one I have installed.
When the next version came out, I upgraded and had a number of severe issues
with the on-screen rendering and after not being able to deal with it, I
went back to the previous version which I am still using as it is
(apparently) working properly. ...
Hi! Maybe your problems were with 2.0.0.
Mind to please try 2.0.1? The Ubuntu installation instructions at
https://github.com/juddmon/jpilot/blob/master/README.md might work for
you, or might not.
If you do try 2.0.1:
A.) If the Ubuntu instructions don't successfully install J-Pilot on
your machine, or if 2.0.1 has any problems, please file one or more
bug reports at https://github.com/juddmon/jpilot/issues. You might be
able to paste a screenshot from your X clipboard directly into an
issue report, using Ctrl+V.
B.) If you encounter no issues, please reply to this email and let us know.
On 9/20/22 08:04, sawbona@gmx.net wrote:
When the next version came out, I upgraded and had a number of severe issues with the on-screen rendering and after not being able to deal with it, I went back to the previous version which I am still using as it is (apparently) working properly.
Perhaps it didn't work well on an older GTK 3.x? I was perfectly happy
with GTK2 and was forced to do WAY too much work to port it.
I don’t know if the latest version of j-Pilot has a dependency on systemd, hopefully it does not. If it does I’d respectfully suggest to Judd to roll that back as it is a sure recipe for trouble, now or further on.
J-Pilot does not have a direct dependency on systemd. On Ubuntu 22.04
(and most likely 20.04) if I run the ldd command on it then libsystemd
does show up. I suspect that is how the libraries it uses were built
and there isn't a way around that on a systemd OS. I would guess if you
were on a non-systemd system that it would build and run fine.
Judd
Hello Judd:
Perhaps it didn't work well on an older GTK 3.x?
Hmm …
No idea what caused it but I recall that everything on the screen ie: colours, fonts and such were wrong so I rolled it back and it stayed that way.
No hick-ups/issues or problems other than those I managed to cause myself. 8^/
I also have the 32bit version running on Devuan in my Asus 1000HE (Intel Atom 280+2Gb RAM) and it is really fast and snappy.
J-Pilot does not have a direct dependency on systemd.
Good to know.
I recall reading somewhere that the Debian maintainers had some issues with j-Pilot ≥ 1.8.2 but I cannot find the page now.
If I remember correctly (?) it had to do with Debian policy or something policy related and as a result of that, j-Pilot 1.8.2-2 was removed from the testing repository which is why there is no updated version in the Devuan repository.
I have no idea how important that is or if it is easy/difficult/impossible to fix but if you could make the time and manage to get j-Pilot 2.0.x back on the Debian repository then it will be drawn into the Devuan repository without much ado.
More so if there is no systemd crud with which the Devuan maintainers would have to deal with.
And I’ll say it again Judd: thank you very much for j-Pilot.
Best,
JHM
On 9/20/22, sawbona@gmx.net sawbona@gmx.net wrote:
...
If I remember correctly (?) it had to do with Debian policy or something
policy related and as a result of that, j-Pilot 1.8.2-2 was removed from the
testing repository which is why there is no updated version in the Devuan
repository.
I have no idea how important that is or if it is easy/difficult/impossible
to fix but if you could make the time and manage to get j-Pilot 2.0.x back
on the Debian repository then it will be drawn into the Devuan repository
without much ado. ...
Good idea. I just submitted a "WNPP" request, asking for Debian to
repackage jpilot (and pilot-link). Please don't reply to that request
unless:
A.) You have a good reason to do so.
B.) And you know the basics of how to properly format emails to the
Debian bug tracking system.
Some effort is involved for the Debian volunteers, to keep these tools
packaged. They'll decide whether or not to resume this effort.
Meanwhile, anyone who wishes can upload homemade pilot-link and jpilot
packages to https://mentors.debian.net/. They can then request for
someone (possibly Ludovic Rosseau) to check these packages and
possibly upload them into Debian. It may not be a quick or easy
process, and you must have a current version of Debian Linux installed
before you begin.
Hello:
Good idea.
8^)
I just submitted a "WNPP" request …
Please don't reply to that …
No idea what it is.
But if it gets j-Pilot 2.0.x back on the Debian repository and by extension on the Devuan repository, I’m all for it.
Some effort is involved …
Of course.
But maybe the ball is in j-Pilot’s side of the court?
ie: things j-Pilot author/programmer/maintainer has to do and then submit the package?
I don’t know how that works, so I’m just guessing.
I did find the page I made reference to in my previous post:
https://packages.qa.debian.org/j/jpilot.html
It reads:
To do:
- The package should be updated to follow the last version of Debian Policy (Standards-Version 4.5.1 instead of 3.9.4).
Problems:
-
The package is severely out of date with respect to the Debian Policy. Latest version is 4.5.1 and your package only follows 3.9.4...
-
This package is neither part of unstable nor experimental. This probably means that the package has been removed (or has been renamed). Thus the information here is of little interest ... the package is going to disappear unless someone takes it over and reintroduces it into unstable.
-
There were override disparities found in suite unstable:
-
jpilot: Override says otherosfs - optional, .deb says otherosfs - extra
-
jpilot-plugins: Override says otherosfs - optional, .deb says otherosfs - extra
-
Note: the Debian Standards Policy is now at version 4.61 released May, 2022.
The updated Debian Package Tracker page https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/jpilot says:
package is gone
This package is not in any development repository. This probably means that the package has been removed (or has been renamed). Thus the information here is of little interest ... the package is going to disappear unless someone takes it over and reintroduces it.
… you must have a current version of Debian Linux installed …
No, don’t have one and won’t have one.
systemd broke Debian so I dropped a few years ago to use a non-systemd distribution and finally settled on Devuan.
Thank you for your input.
Best,
JHM