:date: 2018-07-06

====================
Friday, July 6, 2018
====================

Released timtools 2.0.0
=======================

Ta-daa, timtools version 2 is out: :ref:`tt2_0_0`.

It wasn't easy because the last release was in September 2010 and
quite some things had changed since then.  For example at that time I
was still using Windows as operating system (something I barely can
believe today).

This release is still under Python 2.  Which means that I can do it in
my old Windows XP virtual machine.  Some problems I encountered and
how I fixed them.

Installing pyinstaller::

    t:\hgwork\tt> pip install pyinstaller

    Downloading/unpacking pywin32>=223 (from pypiwin32->pyinstaller)
      Could not find any downloads that satisfy the requirement pywin32>=223 (from pypiwin32->pyinstaller)
    Cleaning up...
    No distributions at all found for pywin32>=223 (from pypiwin32->pyinstaller)
    Storing debug log for failure in T:\DATA\LUC\HOME\pip\pip.log

Aha, this is because pip support is experimental.  I downloaded
`pywin32-223.win32-py2.7.exe` and installed this one.


Another challenge was that I want to deploy several scripts in a
single zip file.  I saw that Felix-neko asked on github `#2547
<https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller/issues/2547>`__:

    I'm developing a Python package and have about 10 demo Python scripts
    that show its capabilities.  I want to distribute the demo scripts
    with PyInstaller: create 10 exe files and put them in one folder with
    all libraries they depend on.  Can it be somehow supported?

tallforasmurf answered:    

    You are describing the multipackage feature which is currently
    broken. See `#1527
    <https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller/issues/1527>`__ and
    feel free to help investigate and fix.

htgoebel suggested:

    Why not simply copy all dist/* directories into the same
    destination directory. This costs a bit of space, but solves the
    problem.

To which Felix-neko answered:

    Well, just now we are using it as a temporary workaround, but it
    look a bit too ugly even for us...


Since `#1527
<https://github.com/pyinstaller/pyinstaller/issues/1527>`__ looks
rather active and rather technical, I won't dive into this now but try
the bold approach suggested by htgoebel.

Then I still needed to change the Python code because of
runtime-errors like these::

    T:\hgwork\tt\dist\timtools>prnprint.exe
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "timtools\scripts\prnprint.py", line 7, in <module>
      File "c:\Python27\Lib\site-packages\PyInstaller\loader\pyimod03_importers.py", line 396, in load_m
    odule
        exec(bytecode, module.__dict__)
      File "timtools\__init__.py", line 15, in <module>
    IOError: [Errno 2] No such file or directory: 'T:\\hgwork\\tt\\dist\\timtools\\timtools\\project_inf
    o.py'
    [1536] Failed to execute script prnprint


When these problems were fixed, another problem became visible: PIL
somehow was missing or did not get bundled.  I think I fixed this by
simply installing PIL into the environment.

I tested the new timtools on their TIM by trying to print a table view
using :kbd:`SHIFT+F7`, which seems to work::
  
    timtools prnprint
    Homepage: http://timtools.lino-framework.org
    Copyright (c) 2004-2018 Rumma & Ko Ltd
    Using TimTools 2.0.0, Python 2.7.8 final, Python Windows Extensions, PIL
    Printing on '\\OSHZ-CPAS\KOPOSHZ'
    [1080] Failed to execute script prnprint
    L:\kunden\gx\tim\timtools\timtools\textprinter\winprn.py:171: RuntimeWarning: Truncation of value to char
    Traceback (most recent call last):
      File "timtools\scripts\prnprint.py", line 134, in <module>
      File "timtools\scripts\prnprint.py", line 131, in main
      File "timtools\console\application.py", line 193, in main
      File "timtools\scripts\prnprint.py", line 120, in run
      File "timtools\textprinter\textprinter.py", line 212, in readfile
      File "timtools\textprinter\textprinter.py", line 264, in writeln
      File "timtools\textprinter\textprinter.py", line 282, in writechars
      File "timtools\textprinter\textprinter.py", line 277, in beforeWrite
      File "timtools\textprinter\textprinter.py", line 164, in beginDoc
      File "timtools\textprinter\winprn.py", line 235, in onBeginDoc
    pywintypes.error: (1801, 'OpenPrinter', 'The printer name is invalid.')



I wrote documentation and added a file :file:`mkdist.bat`.
I adapted the Sphinx config for the documentation.
I configured and activated the subdomain
http://timtools.lino-framework.org/

I published everything to https://github.com/lsaffre/timtools


Trying to add disk space to a vps
=================================

I followed the guide `Create and configure an additional disk on an
instance
<https://docs.ovh.com/gb/en/public-cloud/create_and_configure_an_additional_disk_on_an_instance/>`__.
The guide needs a fuzzy reading because it is written for the old
control panel.

I selected a 50GB disk for 1.94€/month.

In a first attempt I created a disk in Warsaw (the suggested default
location), but when I wanted to attach it to a server, the control
panel said "You have no compatible instance that you can attach this
volume to".  I deleted my disk in Warsaw and created a new one in
Strasbourg.

Before::

    luc@ovh2:~$ lsblk
    NAME   MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
    sda      8:0    0  10G  0 disk 
    `-sda1   8:1    0  10G  0 part /

After::
  
    luc@ovh2:~$ lsblk
    NAME   MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
    sda      8:0    0  10G  0 disk 
    `-sda1   8:1    0  10G  0 part /
    sdb      8:16   0  50G  0 disk 

I run fdisk to change the partition table of my new disk::

    $ sudo fdisk /dev/sdb

First I ask it to create a new partition::    
    
    Command (m for help): n
    Partition type
       p   primary (0 primary, 0 extended, 4 free)
       e   extended (container for logical partitions)
    Select (default p): 

    Using default response p.
    Partition number (1-4, default 1): 
    First sector (2048-104857599, default 2048): 
    Last sector, +sectors or +size{K,M,G,T,P} (2048-104857599, default 104857599): 

    Created a new partition 1 of type 'Linux' and of size 50 GiB.

Now I tell fdisk to write my partition table and exit::

    Command (m for help): w
    The partition table has been altered.
    Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table.
    Syncing disks.
    
Then I format my new partition::

    luc@ovh2:~$ sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1
    mke2fs 1.42.12 (29-Aug-2014)
    Discarding device blocks: done                            
    Creating filesystem with 13106944 4k blocks and 3276800 inodes
    Filesystem UUID: 4e8d6d43-9e7d-4e16-a23c-4aa50076c826
    Superblock backups stored on blocks: 
            32768, 98304, 163840, 229376, 294912, 819200, 884736, 1605632, 2654208, 
            4096000, 7962624, 11239424

    Allocating group tables: done                            
    Writing inode tables: done                            
    Creating journal (32768 blocks): done
    Writing superblocks and filesystem accounting information: done

I manually mount the partition for a first time::

    luc@ovh2:~$ sudo mkdir /mnt/disk
    luc@ovh2:~$ sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/disk/
    
I note my block device IDs::

    luc@ovh2:~$ sudo blkid
    /dev/sda1: UUID="d0762fba-e9b1-4692-b20c-26b6daf0f119" TYPE="ext4" PARTUUID="4585c18d-01"
    /dev/sdb1: UUID="4e8d6d43-9e7d-4e16-a23c-4aa50076c826" TYPE="ext4" PARTUUID="7cf937be-01"
    

I add the disk to the :file:`/etc/fstab` file in order to have it
mounted automatically at startup. Before::

    /dev/sda1  /  ext4  errors=remount-ro,discard  0  1

After::  
    
    UUID=d0762fba-e9b1-4692-b20c-26b6daf0f119 /  ext4  errors=remount-ro,discard  0  1
    UUID=4e8d6d43-9e7d-4e16-a23c-4aa50076c826 /mnt/disk ext4 nofail 0 0

IOW I also switched to UUID for my :file:`/dev/sda1` which seems
to be a more robust way to name devices

And now::

  $ sudo reboot

And then as a first step I moved `public_html` to the new disk
(leaving a symbolic link to the new location so I don't need to change
any related configuration files).