dennishilmar.dk

Gnome Sync - The next generation

Dennis Hilmar — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 21:56:18

I started a project called Gnome Synchronization Utility this year hoping that it will soon be a part of the Ubuntu repository. As the title implies this is an application that synchronizes files and folders between devices/machines. I am focusing on keeping the application server independent, which means the only thing required on the receiving machine is an ssh account. Everything will be transfered through ssh. In the future the syncd will be capable of creating and managing Subversion as well.

In general its just an easy-to-use front-end to rsync, but it also automates the process of resyncing when changes are made in files and folders. In the next version (v0.4+) this utility will be split up into 4 different applications:

syncd, which is the core of the application. This will use gnome-vfs-monitor to detect when changes are made. It will be able to use Subversion to keep all the later versions of files.

libsyncd will be the complete library to use when accessing syncd from another application.

nautilus-sync, which is the plugin to nautilus for easy access to the syncd.

gnome-sync, which is now just a front end to the syncd.

web-sync, which is the web interface with the syncd. This has not even been planned yet, but is going to happen...

I will try to get a trac going on the project soon.

..or download the project from sourceforge

Ideas for new exciting projects!1

Dennis Hilmar — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 05:05:31

Some people are good doers and others are good thinkers. I think alot but it takes a long time until I do something about it:) I just hate getting ideas when I have so many things to do... Its just as bad as the fact that a man can score better when having a girlfriend.

Well, I have these ideas for things I would like to do... I'm just gonna list them here:

Hack xmms2tray with a playlist.
Add settings to xmms2trays tray.
A xmms2 (cool looking) pango client!
A mplayer (cool looking) pango client!
Add support for NZB files in thunderbird... I'm using pan right now when nzb files are really easy to interpret, it shouldn't be a problem.

Gnome-sync version 0.3

Dennis Hilmar — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 20:19:13

I just finished the third version of gnome-sync...

The major differences are the startup wizard and the logging feature. Other than that I've introduced a whole lot of bugs but now I'm begining to take a new approach to the project.

The next version is going to be a total of 4 different apps: Nautilus-extension is almost unchanged, Gnome-sync is going to be only the graphical part of the sync app. Then I'm going to make a syncd which is going to be the core app. To contact the sync daemon I'm going to use UNIX sockets and I'm gonna make a library to include in gnome-sync and nautilus-extension, so they will use the same commands from now on.

Its beginning to take shape and I'm already feling better about the project.

I'm going to upload the plans to this blog soon.

Now everything is going through the libsyncd and a commandlist is needed to be created for the communication between libsyncd and gnome-sync/nautilus-extension.

The following are the commands sent through the UNIX socket between libsyncd and syncd:

$ load filelist
$ load settings
$ add filepath
$ sync filepath
$ restore filepath
$ remove filepath
$ enable log
$ disable log
$ enable monitor
$ disable monitor
$ save password

Installing software RAID1

Dennis Hilmar — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:06:19

My first job as a professional I was hired to put up a file server. We had so many problems at first just getting the right hardware ordered and then they wanted something else, and then they tooled me about the big rack they have in the back, and then the hardware didn't fit in the new rack case, and then it didn't work and then we yelled at some people and then and then and then... It was quit funny.

Now I finally got the computer and I figure out the hardware RAID doesn't work!!! I don't want to keep on messing with people so I have decided to do it software RAID style using MD(Multi-Disk), the most famous and oldest of the Linux software RAID. Since I spend an entire day looking at how to do RAID in Linux I will just do a quick howto:

First things first: Boot from your favorite live CD. I recommend Ubuntu :)
Partition your harddrives. I use fdisk, but any tool will do. REMEMBER to set all partitions to type "Linux raid autodetect"
To copy the partition do: fdisk -d /dev/sda | fdisk /dev/sdb
Install mdadm: sudo apt-get install mdadm
Setup the two harddrives for RAID, in this case RAID1 (mirror): mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1
Create your filesystems: mke2fs -j /dev/md0
And last but not least: Install your distribution as if /dev/md0 was your filesystem.
Grub is always a good thing to install on all harddrives. This way if one fails the other will try and boot :-)

If its not possible to install your distribution on /dev/md0 there is an alternative...
You can setup the RAID array after installing your system. This is rather difficult since the root partition is un-unmountable. To do this we have to setup the RAID with only one device: mdadm --create /dev/md0 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 missing /dev/sdb1.

Now you need to copy your filesystem to this drive manually: tar -C / -clspf - . | tar -xlspvf -
When the filesystem seems to be bootable just edit the root in /etc/fstab file to /dev/md0 and reboot. Hopefully the system will reboot onto the RAID file system and then all you need to do is type a simple command to add the first harddrive: mdadm /dev/md0 -a /dev/sda1

All done

Gnome Synchronization Utility - Going global

Dennis Hilmar — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 06:47:57

After releasing the gnome-sync project on Sourceforge.net I have worked a lot on it... Lots of changes are set to be made and it looks as things like Version Control is going to be implemented soon. A log of all activities are also being implemented soon.

I have been drawn to the project for weeks now and it is finally looking like something I would give to people... Its not nearly finish or stable, but it does synchronize two computers. A problem I'm currently working on is known as "The three way problem", which is a problem where three computers are trying to sync with eachother. This cannot currently be done since the program only supports one sync partner...

I am hoping to create a new version every week from now, which means that a stable v1.0 will be out in 7 weeks (0.3 out tomorrow). The plans for the project are evolving all the time, but here are a short summary of the current:

v0.3:

Predefined paths for oftently used applications.
Proxy support
Log viewer (Log is going to be written in SQLite)

v0.4:

Add Git (Version Control) support
Stop doing minutly/hourly/daily checks for changes and make the timer start and stop on gnome-vfs callbacks.
Optimizing gnome-vfs <-> rsync to only sync the changed files

v0.5:

Advanced use of Git... e.g Diff and Status
More intelligent system for generating rsync/git commands.
Support for multiple synchronization specifications -> User profiles.

v0.6

Split code into Library, Daemon, and Interfaces(nautilus-extension & gnome-sync-gui)
Library: This is the utility to interface with the Daemon with
Daemon: All gnome-sync specific code should be run in the background
GUI: Communicating through a socket the GUIs finaly use the same folderlist.c file :)

v0.7 - v1.0

Looking into The three way sync problem
Bugs and optimization

Idioms, Neologisms, and Buzzwords

Dennis Hilmar — Sun, 20 May 2007 13:39:27

We had a little discussion about buzzwords in the group room today... And I decided to look into the case. I want to make a list of the best buzzwords created, but first I need to know exacly what it is.

I asked wikipedia.org:
A buzzword (also known as a fashion word or vogue word) is an idiom, often a neologism, commonly used in managerial, technical, administrative, and sometimes political environments. Though apparently ubiquitous in these environments, the words often have unclear meanings.
Buzzwords are typically intended to impress one's audience with the pretense of knowledge.

Here are some examples:
Win-win: Used as a co-operation term, because both companies benefits on the partnership. Though the bigger company often shoots the other in the back soon afterwards.

Attack-surface: Used by Microsoft to convince users to do security updates. This will reduce their attack-surface. It means that they have reduced the rights of the user in the OS.

Added value: The value attributed to products, and services as the result of a particular process. This can be putting 32" on your car. This will give your car more value when selling it (but probably not as much as what you paied for the 32";).

Synergy-effect: A meaning that reaches more that the meaning of the assemble sum.

locked tool box: When a company has the right tools, systems, computers, etc., but lacks skilled employees that can put them to good use.

literatisement: An advertising product placement embedded in books, short stories, etc. Just like they do in TV. So beware the next time your book’s hero is driving a Lexus, the author may be on Lexus’ payroll. Ah, the plot thickens.

kleptonarcissist: Someone so vain that he/she compulsively steals glances of himself/herself in any nearby reflective surface - mirrors, polished cars, etc.

mancation: A man’s vacation. Generally includes lots of beer, a Weber grill, slabs of meat for cooking and a sack of fireworks.

Downsizing: Same as Rightsizing and Delayering. Just because people dont like to say layoffs.

DIRFT: an acronym for "Do It Right the First Time," one of the essential philosophies of Total Quality Management.

Lean organization: fewer employees doing more work, the after-effect of downsizing after downsizing due to rightsizing or economic necessity.

Parkinson's Law: work expands to meet the time allotted to it. So tell employees they have five days to complete a project and it will take them five days, even if it could be done sooner.

Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

Peter Principle: the theory that employees within an organization will advance to their highest level of competence and then be promoted to, and remain at, a level at which they are incompetent.

Thunderbolt thinking: another term for that "aha moment," this refers to those sudden insights that can result in profitable business opportunities.

Values: positive corporate behavior representing a broad range of goals from ethics to customer service to product quality.

Back to school

Dennis Hilmar — Mon, 14 May 2007 14:56:15

Influenced by the great Richard Stallman, a buddy of mine and I joined in a quest to encourage free software in elementary schools.

The main goal of this project is to freely distribute a server running edubuntu and connecting all the schools older computers to it as thin clients. This is not only an advantage for the school economically, since all the programs we are promoting are GNU/Linux based, but also a more ethical solution.

The project was created on political and ethical backgrounds and we have no intention of ever receiving money for it. We hope to obtain a database of all schools in Denmark running GNU/Linux based operating systems, since the webpage (to be created) is intended to be a meeting place for school administrators.

This project is going to get wind under its wings juni 21st since we both soon will enter a critical time of examinations.

The greate Richard Stallman

Dennis Hilmar — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 23:17:08

Its now a couple of weeks since Richard Stallman, the inventor of GNU, came to visit our small country and talk about the danger of software licenses.

Its been 6 years since I first saw Richard on the TV documentary "The Code", and this made me want to spend much more time in free software. Since this I started programming and have been working with Open Source ever since.

I had great expectations about this man telling us something new and intreaging, but it seemed that he haven't gotten a long way since "The Code". It was like seeing a hippie who was focusing on misunderstandings between people, like Linus Torvald only having made the kernel, which is why all the free software programs should be refered to as GNU instead of Linux.

OpenMoko project started

Dennis Hilmar — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 00:02:19

The OpenMoko project is looking to become very big. The phone is a success, the software seems to be a success, and the software ideas look like they have no limits:)

Gnome Backup Utility 0.1 Out!

Dennis Hilmar — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 00:02:19

I am are happy to announce that Gnome Backup Utility version 0.1 are available now.
Further development on the program package has already begun.