Debian or Arch Linux ARM

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Debian or Arch Linux ARM

Postby Freakeao » Mon May 09, 2011 7:45 pm

I'm going to be getting a dockstar soon and I'm trying to figure out if I should install Arch Linux ARM or debian on it. What are the advantages of Arch Linux ARM versus debian? I'm pretty familiar with linux (gentoo lately but moving away from it). I'd like to use my dockstar as a DLNA/NFS/SMB server, torrent box (probably rtorrent - that's what I've been using), and maybe if there's still room a tunerless mythtv backend.

Do either of the OSs mentioned provide better options for this functionality?

Thanks
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Re: Debian or Arch Linux ARM

Postby Freakeao » Tue May 10, 2011 1:24 am

Understood. But you'd at least know the differences better than I would.
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Re: Debian or Arch Linux ARM

Postby Frex » Tue May 10, 2011 1:40 pm

<half-rant>
I use Debian on my other boxes. I chose Arch Linux ARM for the DockStar because I've always had mixed feelings about Debian's release system.

With Debian you either have to accept to run an outdated system (stable), or the chance it might become partly broken. Stable tends to be only mildly outdated when it's just been released, and testing tends to be worse at the same time, stable gets older and older and testing gets progressively better.

Sometimes I need to upgrade some app and I can't because it has a huge load of dependencies, typically standard libraries, and if you give up you enter the no-man's land of a mixed system (= you're on your own); backports should address this but AFAICT there are not many backports right now for squeeze. Or some really important package (i.e. nvidia-glx) gets dropped out of the repos for some time and you have to install it manually and that goes against the Debian Way, have fun with that.

Debian's release cycle tends to be long (I would say too long), hence the time during which stable is outdated enough but testing isn't too much work tends to be non negligible.

Pros of Debian are: packages are many more, tend to be of higher quality if you take into account AUR (which to me is a necessary evil exactly because the official repos are not as rich as Debian's). Also Debian has more work already done for you (less time wasted on menial work is good for me), but I feel this is a minor issue on non-desktop systems. There also also many third-party repos which have very high quality standards, and being one of the most popular distributions, .deb packages are easy to find.

Of course there are exception, like the OpenSSL fiasco or the fact many Debian packages are stuck in ancient history either because the maintainer has vanished or because for some reason he has decided it's a lot of work to make the new version fit inside the framework Debian chose to use.

Arch focuses on some sort of minimalism that sometimes just appears to be for its own sake. I think being somewhat more pragmatical would just benefit the end user. Take for example, Debian's policy against closed source software but then again you have the non-free repos to save your ***** - that's a way to state your principles and yet not leave your users out in the cold having to fix things themselves.

Then again Arch is more for hardcore Linux users, so this way of thinking works up to a certain point. Beyond that point we start questioning some choices of Linux users and their attitude so I'll keep those thoughts to myself.

I'll stop here, I'm sure there are other differences but this post is already too much of a rant :)
</half-rant>
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Re: Debian or Arch Linux ARM

Postby Freakeao » Tue May 10, 2011 5:21 pm

I browsed through the repository listed on Arch Linux ARM.com and I didn't find any mythtv packages. Do they exist in another repository, or is it something that would have to be compiled directly on the plug if I am running Arch Linux ARM linux? Or is the combination of mythtv-backend and Arch Linux ARM linux not possible?
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Re: Debian or Arch Linux ARM

Postby kmihelich » Sun May 15, 2011 4:54 am

I recently got MythTV into the community repo. You should be able to pacman -S it. Still waiting on reports from anyone that tries it.
Arch Linux ARM exists and continues to grow through community support, please donate today!
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Re: Debian or Arch Linux ARM

Postby justdave » Tue May 17, 2011 4:12 pm

Hi-

I tried to install the mythtv package. Towards the end I get:$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '
[root@Plugbox1 conf.d]# pacman -Sy mythtv
:: Synchronizing package databases...
core is up to date
extra is up to date
community is up to date
aur is up to date
warning: mythtv-1:0.24-3 is up to date -- reinstalling
resolving dependencies...
looking for inter-conflicts...

Targets (1): mythtv-1:0.24-3

Total Download Size: 0.00 MB
Total Installed Size: 62.82 MB

Proceed with installation? [Y/n]
(1/1) checking package integrity [######################] 100%
(1/1) checking for file conflicts [######################] 100%
(1/1) upgrading mythtv [######################] 100%
/tmp/alpm_QCNyvY/.INSTALL: line 6: syntax error near unexpected token `}'
/tmp/alpm_QCNyvY/.INSTALL: line 6: `}'
error: command failed to execute correctly
[root@Plugbox1 conf.d]#')

I am currently trying to complete the setup of the database.

dave
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Re: Debian or Arch Linux ARM

Postby justdave » Sat May 21, 2011 9:02 pm

I am having a slew of error from mysql when trying to run mythtv-setup. Here are a few:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '2011-05-21 13:53:23.706 Error preparing query: SELECT data FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname = :HOSTNAME
2011-05-21 13:53:23.706 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:23.708 Error preparing query: SELECT data FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname IS NULL
2011-05-21 13:53:23.708 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:24.679 System Locale (en_US), Country (US), Language (en)
2011-05-21 13:53:33.692 Error preparing query: DELETE FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname = :HOSTNAME ;
2011-05-21 13:53:33.705 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:33.706 DB Error (Clear setting):
Query was:
DELETE FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname = :HOSTNAME ;
Bindings were:
:HOSTNAME=Arch Linux ARM install, :KEY=Language
Driver error was [2/1064]:
QMYSQL: Unable to execute query
Database error was:
You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near ':KEY AND hostname = :HOSTNAME' at line 1

2011-05-21 13:53:33.719 Error preparing query: INSERT INTO settings (value,data,hostname) VALUES ( :VALUE, :DATA, :HOSTNAME );
2011-05-21 13:53:33.719 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:33.720 DB Error (SaveSettingOnHost('Language') - query failure: ):
Query was:
INSERT INTO settings (value,data,hostname) VALUES ( :VALUE, :DATA, :HOSTNAME );
Bindings were:
:DATA=en_US, :HOSTNAME=Arch Linux ARM install, :VALUE=Language
Driver error was [2/1064]:
QMYSQL: Unable to execute query
Database error was:
You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near ':VALUE, :DATA, :HOSTNAME )' at line 1

2011-05-21 13:53:33.721 Error preparing query: DELETE FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname = :HOSTNAME ;
2011-05-21 13:53:33.721 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:33.722 DB Error (Clear setting):
Query was:
DELETE FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname = :HOSTNAME ;
Bindings were:
:HOSTNAME=Arch Linux ARM install, :KEY=Country
Driver error was [2/1064]:
QMYSQL: Unable to execute query
Database error was:
You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near ':KEY AND hostname = :HOSTNAME' at line 1

2011-05-21 13:53:33.724 Error preparing query: INSERT INTO settings (value,data,hostname) VALUES ( :VALUE, :DATA, :HOSTNAME );
2011-05-21 13:53:33.725 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:33.728 DB Error (SaveSettingOnHost('Country') - query failure: ):
Query was:
INSERT INTO settings (value,data,hostname) VALUES ( :VALUE, :DATA, :HOSTNAME );
Bindings were:
:DATA=US, :HOSTNAME=Arch Linux ARM install, :VALUE=Country
Driver error was [2/1064]:
QMYSQL: Unable to execute query
Database error was:
You have an error in your SQL syntax; check the manual that corresponds to your MySQL server version for the right syntax to use near ':VALUE, :DATA, :HOSTNAME )' at line 1

2011-05-21 13:53:33.777 Error preparing query: SELECT data FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname = :HOSTNAME
2011-05-21 13:53:33.777 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:33.784 Error preparing query: SELECT data FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname IS NULL
2011-05-21 13:53:33.784 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:33.840 Error preparing query: SELECT data FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname = :HOSTNAME
2011-05-21 13:53:33.840 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:33.842 Error preparing query: SELECT data FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname IS NULL
2011-05-21 13:53:33.842 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:33.845 Error preparing query: SELECT data FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname = :HOSTNAME
2011-05-21 13:53:33.845 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:33.846 Error preparing query: SELECT data FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname IS NULL
2011-05-21 13:53:33.847 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:33.848 Error preparing query: SELECT data FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname = :HOSTNAME
2011-05-21 13:53:33.849 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

2011-05-21 13:53:33.851 Error preparing query: SELECT data FROM settings WHERE value = :KEY AND hostname IS NULL
2011-05-21 13:53:33.851 Driver error was [2/1146]:
QMYSQL3: Unable to prepare statement
Database error was:
Table 'mythconverg.settings' doesn't exist

Segmentation fault
[root@Arch Linux ARM install home]#')

When it doesn't segfault, it just hangs saying that it is updating the schema to 1226.

thanks

dave
justdave
 
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Re: Debian or Arch Linux ARM

Postby kmihelich » Sat May 21, 2011 9:06 pm

Looks like you got the initial package which was bad. An updated version has since been released into the repo. pacman -Syu to upgrade and see if it fixes things.
Arch Linux ARM exists and continues to grow through community support, please donate today!
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Re: Debian or Arch Linux ARM

Postby justdave » Sun May 22, 2011 2:51 pm

The syntax error during install is gone, but the problems persist. I had to install libsamplerate (I guess it's not in the depend list). The setup now outputs this:

$this->bbcode_second_pass_code('', '[root@Plugbox1 ~]# DISPLAY=:1 /usr/bin/mythbackend
2011-05-22 07:41:08.689 mythbackend version: [v0.24.1] www.mythtv.org
2011-05-22 07:41:08.710 Using runtime prefix = /usr
2011-05-22 07:41:08.711 Using configuration directory = /root/.mythtv
2011-05-22 07:41:08.737 Empty LocalHostName.
2011-05-22 07:41:08.738 Using localhost value of Plugbox1
2011-05-22 07:41:08.948 New DB connection, total: 1
2011-05-22 07:41:08.978 Connected to database 'mythconverg' at host: localhost
2011-05-22 07:41:08.985 Closing DB connection named 'DBManager0'
2011-05-22 07:41:08.988 Current locale en_US
2011-05-22 07:41:08.998 Reading locale defaults from /usr/share/mythtv//locales/en_us.xml
2011-05-22 07:41:09.018 SaveSettingOnHost('FreqTable') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.018 SaveSettingOnHost('ISO639Language0') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.019 SaveSettingOnHost('ISO639Language1') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.019 SaveSettingOnHost('TVFormat') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.019 SaveSettingOnHost('VbiFormat') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.020 SaveSettingOnHost('Country') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.020 SaveSettingOnHost('DateFormat') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.020 SaveSettingOnHost('Language') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.020 SaveSettingOnHost('MythArchiveDateFormat') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.021 SaveSettingOnHost('MythArchiveTimeFormat') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.021 SaveSettingOnHost('MythArchiveVideoFormat') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.021 SaveSettingOnHost('ShortDateFormat') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.021 SaveSettingOnHost('TimeFormat') - No database yet
2011-05-22 07:41:09.026 No current database version?
2011-05-22 07:41:09.029 Connected to database 'mythconverg' at host: localhost
2011-05-22 07:41:09.033 Database appears to be empty/new!
2011-05-22 07:41:09.033 MythTV database schema is old. Waiting to see if DB is being upgraded.
2011-05-22 07:41:10.067 No current database version?
2011-05-22 07:41:10.067 New DB connection, total: 2
2011-05-22 07:41:10.069 Connected to database 'mythconverg' at host: localhost
2011-05-22 07:41:10.074 Database appears to be empty/new!
2011-05-22 07:41:11.076 No current database version?
2011-05-22 07:41:11.078 Database appears to be empty/new!
2011-05-22 07:41:12.080 No current database version?
2011-05-22 07:41:12.083 Database appears to be empty/new!
2011-05-22 07:41:13.085 No current database version?
2011-05-22 07:41:13.087 Database appears to be empty/new!
2011-05-22 07:41:14.089 No current database version?
2011-05-22 07:41:14.091 Database appears to be empty/new!
2011-05-22 07:41:14.092 Timed out waiting.
2011-05-22 07:41:14.092 The database seems to be empty - not attempting a backup
2011-05-22 07:41:14.340 Newest MythTV Schema Version : 1264
2011-05-22 07:41:14.356 Inserting MythTV initial database information.
2011-05-22 07:41:14.357 New DB connection, total: 3
2011-05-22 07:41:14.359 Connected to database 'mythconverg' at host: localhost
2011-05-22 07:41:14.362 Upgrading to MythTV schema version 1226
^C
[root@Plugbox1 ~]#
')

It hangs forever on the upgrading schema.

thanks

dave
justdave
 
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Re: Debian or Arch Linux ARM

Postby kmihelich » Sun May 22, 2011 6:51 pm

Arch Linux ARM exists and continues to grow through community support, please donate today!
kmihelich
Developer
 
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Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2010 6:55 am
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