[mythtv-users] libmythtv.so to fix PVR-x50 Problem

[George Mari]

On 11/25/2012 03:58 PM, Sean Donovan wrote:
> Hi George,
>
> Could you send me the libmythtv.so file you generated with the Itskinol
> patch <http://code.mythtv.org/trac/ticket/10732>?
>
> I can't wait for them to patch it through regular channels.
>
> --
> Cheers,
>
> Sean.
>

Hi Sean.  I'm copying the mailing list as I've gotten several requests 
to share this patched library file, and I felt I should try to politely 
explain why I will not share the patched, binary file.

The main reason is that the library file I created on my system would be 
fairly specific to my system.  If you are not running Fedora Linux, and 
the binary RPMs from RPMFusion, version 0.25.2, as I am, this isn't 
going to work.

Even if you are running MythTV using the RPMFusion binaries, I have no 
idea if the various source libraries and header files I have installed 
on my system would make the library I created work - or not work - on 
your systems.  It may make a difference - it may not.  The old version 
of the libmythtv.so file from RPMFusion, without the patch, was 9.4MB. 
The new, patched version, is 67MB.  Why?  Did I unknowingly build it 
with debug information?  Did something else get included that shouldn't 
have been?  I have no clue.

Which leads to my final point, and I hope you'll understand - I do not 
wish to get into a situation where I am asked to provide support for 
something I barely understand.  If the file I provide to you and other 
users does not work, it then becomes my responsibility to investigate 
and explain why.  If through no fault of your own, you don't have the 
necessary skills and knowledge to troubleshoot the problem, no one can 
expect you to figure out why it wouldn't be working on what seems like 
an otherwise identical system.  You would then quite naturally conclude 
- as would others - that the binary file does not in fact work - it does 
not fix the problem it was implied to fix.

And because the reason it is not working is most likely some subtle 
incompatibility between my system, libraries, headers, etc. - and those 
on your system, even though everything seems to be exactly the same - it 
unfairly throws the correctness of the original patch into doubt, which 
does a dis-service to the developer of that patch.

I am not a MythTV developer, I am a user like you.  Over the years, in 
participating in this and other projects as a user or tester, I have 
learned enough to be able to compile source code, apply patch files, and 
test the results.  I was affected by the bug in question, and hoped to 
do the community a small favor by testing the patch and providing 
feedback.  But that is all I really have time for, unfortunately.

If you are uncomfortable re-producing the steps I took to apply the 
patch to my system, I understand - I've been there myself.  But other 
than asking you to take the time to learn how to download the source for 
whichever MythTV distribution you are using, and applying this patch to 
your own system, I would ask that you wait for the volunteers working at 
MythTV and whatever binary distribution you are using to incorporate 
this patch into one of their releases.

Thanks.