Announce: New versions of erlands plugins

[erland]

Thanks very much.

I wonder whether Erland might want to put a consolidated list of plugins that seem OK under LMS 8 (even though not yet verified by him) in the first post of this thread, for everyone's benefit?

I think I’ll setup a separate repository file for 8.0, that way people just have to add that repository to LMS settings to be able to install them as normal. However, what should be the criteria to add a plugin/applet to that repository file ?
Is it enough if someone has successfully installed it on 8.0 or does someone have to confirm that they have used the plugin functionality on 8.0 or do you want multiple users to confirm that they have used the plugin functionality on 8.0 ?
Just asking because it’s a bit different situation when you can’t expect the developer(=me) to help troubleshooting or fix bugs, so some people might not want to risk upgrading unless multiple people confirm that a plugin actually works.

[erland]

I think I’ll setup a separate repository file for 8.0, that way people just have to add that repository to LMS settings to be able to install them as normal.

Or is it better to use the standard repository and just indicate in the plugin description that all are untested on 8.0 ?
Not sure if people wants to explicitly decide that they want to install untested plugins or if it’s better that they are there and just don’t work ?

[hphp67]

Repository

Erland, thanks for all the work you put into this system!

I am on LMS 8.1 (new install) and was missing your plugins, so searching brought me here. I'd be really grateful if you use the same repository even tough there might be some testing needed - nobody expects everything to work instantly or you giving any support anyways..

Thanks again!

[PasTim]

Or is it better to use the standard repository and just indicate in the plugin description that all are untested on 8.0 ?
Not sure if people wants to explicitly decide that they want to install untested plugins or if it’s better that they are there and just don’t work ?

I think it might be a good idea to ask Michael. I'd be happy with either approach, but I could well understand it if Michael doesn't want relatively untested plugins available as standard.

The cautious approach would be a separate repo (a beta) which people would have to explicitly include. That might also help you if/as/when you get around to test them yourself and want to try a few fixes.

As to what to include, I'd be a bit go-for-it and include all except the ones you have been told don't work.

By the way I notice that http://erland.isaksson.info/download/ returns an empty downloads page (it used to work, probably years ago!), whereas http://downloads.isaksson.info/download/ does return your downloads page.

[erland]

By the way I notice that http://erland.isaksson.info/download/ returns an empty downloads page (it used to work, probably years ago!), whereas http://downloads.isaksson.info/download/ does return your downloads page.

Where did you find the non working link ?

[erland]

Thanks very much.

I wonder whether Erland might want to put a consolidated list of plugins that seem OK under LMS 8 (even though not yet verified by him) in the first post of this thread, for everyone's benefit?

I think it might be a good idea to ask Michael. I'd be happy with either approach, but I could well understand it if Michael doesn't want relatively untested plugins available as standard.

The cautious approach would be a separate repo (a beta) which people would have to explicitly include. That might also help you if/as/when you get around to test them yourself and want to try a few fixes.

As to what to include, I'd be a bit go-for-it and include all except the ones you have been told don't work.

Please continue to report which of my plugins that works/doesn’t work in this thread but let’s continue the discussion how to indicate what’s working to the thread I started earlier in the year in the developers section, it’s a generic problem and not only related to my plugins:

https://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?111722-3rd-party-plugins-and-8-0&p=998387&viewfull=1#post998387

I don’t want to manage a list of working plugins myself since I think this is a generic problem for all plugins that aren’t actively supported.

[PasTim]

Where did you find the non working link ?

A bookmark. I've probably had it for years. No problem.

[mps]

Just want to mention a slight upgrade issue that does not have to do with LMS versions. If you are moving from a very old perl to a newer one, the URI::Escape module changed its encoding strategy in 2010, so trackstat backups written from very old versions of perl will not be read correctly by a new version of perl. I ran into this when migrating of ReadyNAS as described in this thread. I am trying to recover my trackstat history by diffing the backups on both versions and editing accordingly.

[PasTim]

I have now made the shift to the 8.0.1. Done a full rescan, and all OK so far, including the latest versions of:

Custom Browse
Custom Clock Helper
Custom Scan
Dynamic Playlists
Multi-Library
SQL Playlist
Trackstat (I think - I haven't checked many of the options)

Having also changed to Material Skin, I'm still figuring out the options and menus. I'm not sure Hide Menus works.

[prabbit]

Custom Browse
Custom Clock Helper
Custom Scan
Dynamic Playlists
Multi-Library
SQL Playlist
Trackstat (I think - I haven't checked many of the options)

I'm not sure Hide Menus works.

That is extremely encouraging as I also use all of these plugins from Erland. I don’t use any steaming services nor are there any other 8.0 features that I need. Regardless, I like my LMS version to stay relatively current. But if these plugins didn’t work in 8.0+, especially TrackStat, I would stay on 7.9.4 forever.

[PasTim]

That is extremely encouraging as I also use all of these plugins from Erland. I don’t use any steaming services nor are there any other 8.0 features that I need. Regardless, I like my LMS version to stay relatively current. But if these plugins didn’t work in 8.0+, especially TrackStat, I would stay on 7.9.4 forever.

The main issue for me would be if there are underlying changes, like SSL or Perl version changes, that might cause problems with other plugins (eg some BBC ones). Since I learned that 7.9.4 is no longer being maintained at all, moving forward might then be the only option. Given nothing much else to do right now in these strange times I decided it was a good time to take the plunge and see what happened.

[bpa]

But if these plugins didn’t work in 8.0+, especially TrackStat, I would stay on 7.9.4 forever.

Plugins needs maintenance. The plugins currently work with 8.0.* and at the moment 8.1.*. No guarantees.
As the plugins have some interaction with a key component - the database, there is a chance that this will break in the future due to revisions.
I think it would be better to plan your migration from unsupported plugins and not risk getting stuck with no service at some point in the near future.

[erland]

I totally agree with you bpa, even if they work currently it’s just a matter of time until something breaks.

I wish I had the focus and time to be able to continue maintaining the plugins but to be brutally realistic it’s very unlikely to happen. My family situation is different today with a small kid in the house and my music listening behavior has changed significantly to mostly using streaming services (Spotify) and currently I’ve honestly barely any need for my plugins myself. It’s hard to let all people down who have used my plugins and I’ve had some hope to be able to do some minimal maintenance, but to be realistic this is very unlikely to happen.

Due to all this I’ve also decided to leave my repository files as they are with maxTarget=7.*.
If some one wants to maintain a separate repository file with minTarget=8.0.0 pointing at my or your own server feel free to do so, but in this case please put it under your e-mail/name instead of mine so people primarily contact you instead of me if they have problem with LMS 8.0 or later.

For people relying on my plugins this means that you have the current options:

- Stay on LMS 7.* forever. In this case you are probably going to loose streaming services over time since they tend to change and will probably stop working on 7.* eventually. Upgrading the OS is obviously very risky since 7.* is eventually going to stop working on latest OS versions. This might be an alternative if you are only using local music and have LMS installed on a computer/device that isn’t used for anything else.

- If you have development skills or is willing to learn, implement new plugins with similar functionality as mine and support them on LMS 8.0 and later. Based on some discussions in the forum I think there might already be some work going on in this direction related to ratings and browsing by custom tags. Alternatively take over maintenance of my plugins, but I honestly expect this to be harder and more boring. It’s always easier to maintain code you have written yourself. I had zero Perl knowledge when I started to implement TrackStat so don’t look at it as an impossible task just because you haven’t developed in Perl before.

- Install my plugins manually in 8.0 and enjoy them as long as they work, but as indicated it’s just a matter of time until something breaks so you should probably plan for that so your setup doesn’t become unusable when it happens. In LMS 8.1 (or later) it’s possible to install some of them if unsupported plugins have been activated in LMS Settings/Plugins, but please note that they might not work or it’s just a matter of time until something breaks them.

For my personal setup I think the most likely scenario is that I’ll continue using 7.8 on short terms and switch to 8.* without most of my plugins installed on longer terms.

I still plan to continue being a member in this community, so this post doesn’t mean I’ll disappear from the community.

To everyone using my plugins, sorry to let you down but hopefully most of you will understand. Thanks for all positive feedback you have given me over the years.

[PasTim]

I totally agree with you bpa, even if they work currently it’s just a matter of time until something breaks.

I wish I had the focus and time to be able to continue maintaining the plugins but to be brutally realistic it’s very unlikely to happen. My family situation is different today with a small kid in the house and my music listening behavior has changed significantly to mostly using streaming services (Spotify) and currently I’ve honestly barely any need for my plugins myself. It’s hard to let all people down who have used my plugins and I’ve had some hope to be able to do some minimal maintenance, but to be realistic this is very unlikely to happen.

Due to all this I’ve also decided to leave my repository files as they are with maxTarget=7.*.
If some one wants to maintain a separate repository file with minTarget=8.0.0 pointing at my or your own server feel free to do so, but in this case please put it under your e-mail/name instead of mine so people primarily contact you instead of me if they have problem with LMS 8.0 or later.

For people relying on my plugins this means that you have the current options:

- Stay on LMS 7.* forever. In this case you are probably going to loose streaming services over time since they tend to change and will probably stop working on 7.* eventually. Upgrading the OS is obviously very risky since 7.* is eventually going to stop working on latest OS versions. This might be an alternative if you are only using local music and have LMS installed on a computer/device that isn’t used for anything else.

- If you have development skills or is willing to learn, implement new plugins with similar functionality as mine and support them on LMS 8.0 and later. Based on some discussions in the forum I think there might already be some work going on in this direction related to ratings and browsing by custom tags. Alternatively take over maintenance of my plugins, but I honestly expect this to be harder and more boring. It’s always easier to maintain code you have written yourself. I had zero Perl knowledge when I started to implement TrackStat so don’t look at it as an impossible task just because you haven’t developed in Perl before.

- Install my plugins manually in 8.0 and enjoy them as long as they work, but as indicated it’s just a matter of time until something breaks so you should probably plan for that so your setup doesn’t become unusable when it happens.

For my personal setup I think the most likely scenario is that I’ll continue using 7.8 on short terms and switch to 8.* without most of my plugins installed on longer terms.

I still plan to continue being a member in this community, so this post doesn’t mean I’ll disappear from the community.

To everyone using my plugins, sorry to let you down but hopefully most of you will understand. Thanks for all positive feedback you have given me over the years.

[mps]

I really appreciate all the plugins you built, Erland, and completely respect your choice to step back. Still, I don't want to see the plugins fade away. I would be willing to "stick a toe in the water" and try maintaining the simple, useful, and relatively stable, DBQuery plugin. If that works out, I'd consider adopting more. If I have to make any changes, I would then create a fork, so I can keep any headaches out of your hair.