[RevServer + Rev on Linux] Checking if you have the needed libraries

[Richard Gaskin]

Andre Garzia wrote:

> there are indeed problems that are tied to missing libraries. I think this
> is true at least for Rev IDE if I remember correctly from past experiences,
> rev will startup with some missing libs and will remove the feature used
> from that library. For example text antialiasing with pango, if pango is not
> present IDE will load without antialiasing, I also think that if you're
> missing mplayer it will still load but play no video.
>
> I can't say this is definitely true these days but I think rev ide
> gracefully degrades some of its features in the absense of some libraries
> but I don't quite remember if this is the intended behaviour never
> implemented or if this is true right now.

Useful info.

It's true that not all of Rev's Linux problems are specific to missing 
libraries, any more than all of its much-more-numerous issues on Mac and 
Windows are related to component dependencies.

But those issues unrelated to such things may be more difficult to track 
down and fix, and may not entirely be problems with Rev.

For example, as I noted here earlier we can see from discussions on the 
RB list that folks there are also having trouble with print orientation, 
and I read the Ubuntu forums often enough to know that issues with the 
Gnome clipboard annoy a great many people who've never used Rev at all.

All of these issues should of course be pursued, and as I noted here the 
printPaperOrientation is being investigated.

Those of us with a sincere interest in improving the Rev experience on 
Linux can help by doing the sort of diagnostics Andre has been 
contributing, and also spending time with other Linux communities, esp. 
their bug databases, to better understand the scope of issues we face.

I've done similar things with Mac OS before, having dug up an API Scott 
Raney needed for a fix on that platform, and I certainly don't mind 
doing the same for the Linux engine.

As we gather the info that would be helpful in finding solutions, we can 
post this to the relevant entries in the RQCC.  Doing so helps us 
catalog useful info in a DB that we can refer the team to for faster 
resolution.

I believe in the power of crowdsourcing, and I know RunRev does too as 
we may see increasingly in the coming months.  Even if we have a small 
crowd here, there's much we can contribute to the process of making a 
better working environment for ourselves.

Thank you for your efforts, Andre.  You continue to be a wealth of 
information for us all.

--
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World
  Rev training and consulting: http://www.fourthworld.com
  Webzine for Rev developers: http://www.revjournal.com
  revJournal blog: http://revjournal.com/blog.irv