Jahshaka2.0

[radaghast]

hi.
I worked -more or less- succesfully with a portable-app of the long-dead program that is Jahshaka.

The program was no longer installable due to missing dependencies since Ubuntu 7.10, I was a Jahshaka user, so my first need was to have it back and working on my machine.

I installed it on a virtual debian-etch, which i retrieved every package from. Then I copied every package on my ubuntu 10.10 and followed instructions to get the job done. I had to add a lot of dependencies from the Etch machine, so the final file is quite huge, compared to the original DEBs.

I had to change a little your Apprun script to have it work correctly, You can see the changes if you run it.

I tested the App on:
Ubuntu 10.10 Gnome --works - no dependencies errors on executing.
Kubuntu 10.10 KDE --works - no dependencies errors on executing.
Ubuntu 9.10 Gnome --works - no dependencies errors on executing.
Fedora 13 Gnome --works - no dependencies errors on executing.
OpenSuse 11.3 Gnome --works - no dependencies errors on executing.
-
Fedora 12 KDE -- not working, missing - libfuse.so.1 - I didn't find the package.

The program itself is buggy as it was in 2006, crashes as you click on some buttons, is Ugly as hell, but is well behaving on most modules.
I tested theese modules:
Animation: works
Effects: Works
Text: works
Editing: seems it has a lot of problems, the original Jahshaka installation did not have. The rendering process fills up RAM and SWAP until the program crashes, reporting a "segmentation fault" error. I tried on EXT4 and EXT3. Maybe some library is missing, but I think it's some problem with newer kernels.

intermediate renderings ( that's the main thing ) work well, producing a progressive-numbered series of pictures, you can transform into an m-jpeg AVI using avidemux, in 10 seconds.
working modules are very fast-responding and the program manage to use the GPU perfectly, even with an ATI card.

i have read about many people still searching for Jashaka, some of them even tried to use it on Wine, so I think they would be glad to see it working as a portable app.

The main problem on Jahshaka, is that the portable app does not manage to create and use the working directory in the /home/user folder. (jahstorage), therefore it uses the program folder, wich is in the /tmp folder. That means you lose most of the work when you close the app, and can lead to dangerous drawbacks if the root folder and the home folder are mounted on different partitions (i.e. lack of free space). I think it's a problem of PATHs, but I did not manage to solve. the .QT folder with configuration files is correctly crated.
now I'm using jahshaka on a folder on my desktop, copied from the /tmp directory with the program running, and it solved the problem for me. It's just a workaround, not a solution.
Jahshaka is a unique program, with its "2D managed in a 3D workspace", I saw nothing similiar around, so I think it's worth a little more work, if you wanto to do that.

link to the file
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10159998/jah-co ... hshaka-def

link to a exemple video I made with the jahshaka-portable-app
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10159998/jah-co ... video.mpeg

Sorry for my English, if I was wrong somewhere, I'm Italian, and could not train enough this year.

Either if you want to publish my work or not, I have to thank you for your portable-app system, it gave back to my my favourite Program.

Bye

Radaghast.

[radaghast]

mmh... libfuse is a dependency to your .Apprun script, not to my program...

[probono]

libfuse.so.2 is a dependency of every AppImage, that is correct.

Thanks for taking the time to create an AppImage, and congratulations that you succeeded.
As for the behavior of your AppImage, it looks like Jahshaka isn't programmed optimally if it shows the behavior you describe?

[radaghast]

Jahshaka was - and still is - a buggy program. But I used it in 2006 and I know which part was working, which not . The program was build trying to create a standalone workstation for video and audio editing. So it has its own desktop and various modules.
The animation module is the main important, and it works correctly, as you know if you wathced the clip.
Every time your work with a module is finished, and you have to swich to another, you have to do an intermediate renderng, whom output is a folder with a picture for every frame. so even if a module is not working, you can take the folder and transform it into a m-jpeg in 10 seconds.

Last time I used jahshaka, the final rendering of the editing module was working, an was good too, now it fills up ram and swap and then crashes with a "segmentation fault" message.

but it may not be a problem, You can do the same job with Openshot or Kdenlive, Even Avidemux, because when you get to the editing module, the big part of the "jahshaka job" is already done.

If you can fix it, that would be a great thing, if you can not, I think jahshaka fans would be happy to have back their favourite buggy program, even if buggy.

The "missing folder" bug is more important, 'cause it's hard to work with jahshaka as a portable app if the intermediate work gets lost every time you close the program. it can be solved in the program's option, switching the media folder, but i couldn't do that before the final packaging, because I didn't understand the strange way jahshaka names folders. ( ././/usr/jahshaka/media what does it menas? it did not accept ~/jahstorage that is the right folder. ) this bug depends on the portable app system, it's not due to jahshaka.

Thx for your job.

Radaghast.

[probono]

"././" means "Your.AppDir/usr".
So "././/usr" wouldn't make sense since it would mean "Your.AppDir/usr/usr", which most likely doesn't exist...

[radaghast]

ok I fixed it. Now jahshaka creates personal folders and works on them. I'm doing more tests, but I think I can't get it better than it is now. this is the file:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10159998/jah-co ... haka-fixed

[probono]

Thanks radaghast. I did some minor tweaks, tested your AppImage on the supported distros and uploaded it.

[radaghast]

Thank You. Can I know more about the minor fixes? (Maybe I forgot a fake SVG icon?) I just want to learn. If I'll manage to get to a better version, I'll write here.

[radaghast]

Ok Houston we have a problem.

I downloaded the jahshaka app from this site, and quickly tested it. As I clicked on the "edit" tab, I received this error:

Failed to initialize the editor module:
Colour Space conversion missing - requieres ffmpeg
Image support missing - requires GTK2 or QImage
XML support missing - requires libxml2

The other modules work correctly.

I don't get the same error with my jahshaka-fixed version.
I deleted all my config files and the working directory, but i still get the same error.
I know that 32 MB are too much for a portable app, but maybe you removed something important in your 27 MB version. ffmpeg is needed, and i Think Jahshaka is not compatible with the newer version.
Therefore this error gives me a suggestion for encoding fixing. maybe I should try getting a newer version of ffmpeg in the .Appdir folder, instead of the Etch one, before creating the portable app.

Rad.

[radaghast]

The Image on your site is stil the 27 MB one. As I already said, it does not work properly.
I would like to link your home page to many people searching for Jahshaka, but I cannot link a broken App.

Please answer me.

Thanks. Radaghast.