VIPSDISP: A quick viewer for jp2 files and for large files in general.

 https://forum.image.sc/t/new-version-of-vipsdisp-a-free-open-source-linux-image-viewer-for-very-large-images/70979

 

Seemed to work fine.  On Manjaro GNU/Linux I had to install a library: openslide.  After doing this, this program started fine.  

 

  

Some grousing: I've been experiencing loss of files and directories

I started working on a directory heavily, to aggregate and organize projects into folders, containing various files, mainly PDFs, images, and random other files, including drafts and "sweeps" related to some of the projects. I have some duplicates, for some of the projects; but with all of the work I've put in over the past few weeks, many files have been lost forever. It is my intention to document here any information relevant to this and other recent glitches or losses of data. I am convinced that MacOS is a scourge. I dropped around 1500.00 on a MacBook Pro, M2, 14", earlier this year. I have long avoided Macs; it was my hoep that I would be able to gain some advantages to my work. But I have lost,in aggregate, probably jmore than I have gained. Problems begin to crop up in regard to copying or syncing directory trees between the mac and the Linux box. - A suite of unresolved problems around the case-insensitive file system of the MacOS. - Dropbox sync issues. This has become a serious problem. I think either I have to completely quit MacOS or figure out a way to convert my data all to a filesystem that is case-sensitive, on the Mac. A plethora of small, hidden files now pollute my directories. Since I have lost files on the Linux Desktop, one obvious way to re-connect with many, or some, of those files has been to tar up an entire directory and copy it via ssh to my desktop. Thi does work, but this is where I introduced a massive number of these invisible files onto the GNU/Linux system. Apple's amazing Finder application is one of the culprits, if not the main one. These tiny files, according to one source in an online forum in which a problem, similar to mine, was discussed stated that these files cause directories to be unseen on other operating systems, possibly Windows. I have no way, yet, of finding out whether this has happened to my system; and, anyway, I have reconstructed some of the folders (directories) on my Linux desktop, which means I have commited mayhem on the filesystem as it existed previous to the apparent deletion of important directories. I have entertained the possibility that my incompetence has conspired with a new console based file manager, yazi, that i have come to depend on as I sorted---and contiue to sort---files into topical higher level folders/directories. Fumble fingers. GUI file managers like nautilus have given me fits in the past. Getting better.

Yazi: a swiss-army utility, for multiple platforms

 I have been using Manjaro for years, now.  Every so often I contemplate installing Arch, which I like, which is not polluted by Manjaro-specific tweaks; but (1) in spite of assurances, it is problematic to install; and (2) none of the other Arch-based distributions have worked well for me.  

Today I want to mention and recommend Yazi, a text/terminal-based "file manager," similar to ranger and a few clones of ranger.  Yazi is, in most respects, the best of the breed.  Yazi, with a few tweaks and some steep uphill learning, made short work of  culling some 150GB of images.  No other tool has been as efficient.   For me.

The home page for Yazi may be found here.

Configuration

Here is where I mention the steep learning curve.  The usage of this tool was not immediately apparent to me.  This is probably on me; eventually, I found the keybindings in the Quick Start page on Yazi's home page.  Not all of the key strokes were either easily understood, or found.  On my MacBook, the color of my terminal interfered with those of Yazi, so I had to read further, and learn to install a theme; the concept and terminology of themes in Yazi were not intuitive.  For me.  Once I figured out how, it was possible to install a theme in the configuration file; various config files are located at ~/.config/yazi.  

 Previewing images

I was able to view images as soon as I had installed yazi on both the macbook and my linux desktop.  But the image was a little small.  I found a couple of things that helped: I learned I could edit the configuration file that determined the maximum image width; after that, the system ran a triffle slower, but I could see the images.  A plugin called "max-preview" enabled expanding the preview even further, in some cases.  I won't explain.  More information is available on the image-preview page of Yazi's home page.

Previewing works nicely on the kitty terminal emulator.  I like kitty, because, out of the box, it is fast, and has a stark black background and intense coloration of text. 

 Bookmarks

Ranger allows definition of keybindings in a more intuitive way (to me) that enabled me to define keystrokes to jump to certain folders/directories that I used frequently.  I just learned to three bookmarking plugins for Yazi that enable something similar, and at least good enough.  bookmarks-persistent, and bookmarks. 

More information on plugins can be found here.

After all that

 A rabbit hole was involved.  But along the way I learned about several other tools that, amazingly, integrate seamlessly (sort of) with Yazi: fzf, zoxide, ripgrep, fd and others.  This is a remarkably polished tool, for a package that has been undergoing rapid and apparently continuous development.  

I recommend installing the development version, which is the default version of yazi in the Arch ecosystem's AUR repository.  This enables some of the more advanced tools.

Fortunately , ranger, a tool I have used for years to browse and sort files and directories, does not work anymore---at least easily---for previewing images and PDFs.  In desperation I reached out to Mr. Google, and discovered a few others.  Nnn is unworkable.  I has never worked out of the box, which was a show stopper for me.  Some others exist.  Yazi appeared out of the mists, and answered my call....  

For now, links on the website of Yazi---a site that is well laid out---point to more information about plugins and other vagaries. 

 

Thoughts about Manjaro, Endeavour, and Gentoo: Recent Dives into the rabbit holes

I have tried Endeavour Linux in the past; something always feels wrong about it.  It has some good points, though.  When I saw it overtook Manjaro, on Distrowatch, my curiosity got the better of me, so I installed it. 

I still like i3 better than other Desktop Managers (KDE is interesting, but slower, for me).  So I reached for the i3 install.

 

Once again, I am disappointed.  Mostly, it's because of the difficulty I had trying to use Endeavour's idiosyncratic customized i3 setup.

 

Pros

• It seemed faster (maybe my older Manjaro is tangled up in knots?)
•  My Manjaro is well worn, feels good, but there are many little issues.  Endeavour felt really speedy.
  
•  Quick to boot.
  
•  

 Cons 

• i3 is intractable to me.  It seemed even more difficult than the last time. 
• Installing the regular config file did not work for me
•  I do not enjoy the wallpaper
• Ranger is not installed
• 
  
• 
  

On the whole, Endeavour was overwritten in one day with Manjaro.  Manjaro is easier to install, and the setup is familiar.   This is regrettable, because I really want an easy-to-install Arch Linux, with Arch repos, without the manjaro overwatch.  

Tried to install Gentoo recently

About 15 years ago, Gentoo was my favorite distro.  I did not like that updating required more than a day, in my aging (but not horribly ancient) hardware.  Maybe it's time to try again?   

Distrowatch's recently featured review of the Gentoo LiveCD received the highest KUDOs of any I have recently read.  So shouldn't I try it?  

The Live CD is nice.  So I tried to install from the Live CD.  There is no Calamares-equivalent installer.  I followed all the steps.  The Boot Manager did not work.  

So I gave up.  I have work to do.  I cannot spend days installing a new OS.  My machine might be up to Gentoo, but I'd have to rein in my penchant to update every few days.   

I never got to find out whether KDE libraries are still a gordian knot on recent Gentoo.  Also, it's a huge learning curve.  Maybe I'll try one of the easy-to-install  Gentoo shortcut distros, but my patience would be certain to be tested.  There are too many steps for everything.  

I might try again.  Maybe on a clean machine.  I want to try Apple Hardware.  

 

Why not Apple M1 or M2?

 The need for speed has me looking at MacBooks and Mac Minis.  

The biggest need for me is an easier to use search function.  The virtual folder feature is so clean and cool, it might be just what I need.  Or maybe I'm fooling myself.

 

Arch and Manjaro

Manjaro is easy to install.  It is my go to system recovery distro.  Let me explain: The System Rescue CDs leave me at the lurch: I still have to dig around, and I don't do well at that.  I'm what might be called a High-Skilled Linux User Without Computer Skills. I can run a system, but the finer points of system tweaking---involving programming---are a massive challenge.  

I have work to do.  GNU/Linux is my biggest ally, but I don't have time or inclination to spend more time, for example to learn to install Arch every few months.  Arch's supporters say that the Arch installation process is a learning tool.  I've learned it too many times already.  Arch is easier than Gentoo.  Gentoo is too much power; more than I can handle, and I cannot keep it on the road.  Arch is the next step toward independence, but every time, I have ended up stepping on my toes, tripping myeself up, and having to re-install.  Because it's easier to install (esp. with Manjaro) than to dive in to the problems.  Even using the greatest help system: Google and the multitudes of users.  I am so dependent on these folk.  How can I repay it forward?  

:-)

Richard Stallman Leaves FSF Again

From DistroWatch.com

John Sulivan, the executive director of the Free software Foundation (FSF), has announced that Richard M. Stallman has resigned his position as president of the FSF. Stallman is best known for his work in creating the free software movement and starting the GNU project, which develops free software that is used by nearly all Linux distributions. Stallman's hard stance on software licensing, along with his controversial views on some social issues and brash communication style, have often made him a divisive figure in the free and open source software communities. This has occasionally led to people petitioning the FSF over the years, asking Stallman to step down.

The most recent controversy around Stallman gained more media attention than usual and resulted in several FSF members threatening to cancel their memberships. Members of the GNOME team announced their intention to cut ties with the FSF and GNU if Stallman did not leave his position. The Free Software Conservancy also placed a similar call for Stallman to step down, stating: "When considered with other reprehensible comments he has published over the years, these incidents form a pattern of behavior that is incompatible with the goals of the free software movement. We call for Stallman to step down from positions of leadership in our movement.". Stallman has also resigned his position at MIT, citing "a series of misunderstandings and mischaracterizations" as the reason for his departure. 

 I have no idea why.  Stallman deserves a good deal more respect than he has gotten.  Over the years, I have been sickened by comments I have seen on various mailing lists and forums.  Many of them comprise little more than offhand name calling.  No question, Richard Stallman's ideas are radical, when taken against the background of a society which is consumer centered and oriented around proprietary commercialism.  

 The best defense of Stallman is to point to the GNU Manifesto.

https://www.gnu.org/gnu/manifesto.en.html 

 

 

 

Interesting Tools

Exa 

Found on https://the.exa.website

I recently stumbled upon exa, a superior (IMHO) ls workalike.  Exa is found on it's own web page.  I installed it from the community repo on my Archlinux machine. It's a pretty amazing take, not only colorized but with some excellent features as well.   I have found it a pleasant alternative.  My bash aliases:

alias lsl='ls -lrt --color=auto'
alias lsla='ls -lrta --color=auto'
alias le='exa'
alias lel='exa --long'
alias lela='exa --long --all'
alias let='exa --tree'
 

On the exa web site is found comprehensive documentation of the numerous options.

UPDATE (July3, 2024): Eza is a community fork of Exa.  I will use that now. 

Kitty :: "the fast, featureful, GPU-based terminal emulator"

Found on https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/

The git repo is at https://github.com/kovidgoyal/kitty

Of late, I have struggled with terminal emulators.  The well known xrvxt was difficult---for me---to set up.  On my archlinux and manjaro boxes, kitty has great colors, and it is simple.  I am intrigued with the "gpu based" part of the description.  I am uncertain how much advantage is derived from being gpu-based, or whether I need to take special steps to compile it with support for my gpu.   For now, it seems quick.  I have little need at this point for extra features.   The developer of kitty, Kovid Goyal,  has produced some other intriguing pieces, including Calibre and an interesting keyboard-based browser, vise.   

I am puzzled that I have not been able to use kitty consistently in my dropdown / scratchpad-based terminal setup---borrowed from Luke Smith.  The reasons for this elude me.   I can only imagine that an entire world exists consisting of the meta data and meta functions of terminals.   I have tried urxvt, su, xfce4-terminal, alacritty (another "gpu-based" terminal),

 

Others: a short list of programs useful to me:

• orage
• powerthesaurus: together with the emacs package by the same name
  
• eepclock
• xnviewmp
• posterazor: blowing up a graphic to print on multiple pages/panes
• dillo: a delightful lightweight browser---I use it for documentation.
• xtide and friends
• gri

My Free Software Story, a chapter

 For me, Free Software is a big deal.  My first whiff of it came from an article in InfoWorld, which I had subscribed to because I was interested in computers, and because it's free.  An article was describing or announcing something to do with the Free Software Foundation (FSF).   I had been standing on the precipice of a project to collect animal names in the language(s) of Chuuk Lagoon, where I was living, teaching, and learning.   My intention was to learn the names of animals so I couild discuss them with local fishermen, in furtherance of my plan to study traditional knowledge of marine life.    

I had received a computer as a gift from my mother, a Toshiba laptop, a really nice one.  But my mother did not understand that to use a computer, one needs software.  I might have had Microsoft word; I don't remember.  I had been living off-the-grid on the island of Tol, using a 10 Watt solar panel to trickle charge a 100 Amp-Hour deep cycle battery that had been given to me by someone in the U. S. Airforce CAT Team (short for Civic Action Team).  I also had a portable HP printer that I rigged up to run off of 12 Volts.  Software was the week link in my plan to "digitize" the names I had been writing down.

During my time in Chuuk, I had become known for my interest in animal names and any thing at all about the behavior, ecology...anything...about marine animals.  And about fishing.  Actually more just about ANYTHING anyone could talk to me about, pertinent to marine life.  Students were my teachers.   

 

I had tried to write the names down using the rudimentary editing software I had---possibly Microsoft Word.  But I could not easily write the diacritic marks used for some vowels in writing Chuukese.  I had approached some linguists at the University of Hawaii.  One of them, Robert Hsu, was kind enough to send a "demonstration copy" of an editor called "Multi-Edit" that was capable of doing what I had in mind.   One of the tricks among software vendors is to disseminate these demo, or evaluation, copies, but charge high prices for a full functioning copy.   I was working at a local Junior High School; my take-home pay was barely enough to cover food for the extended family of my wife.  To obtain the fullly enabled copy of the cripple-ware program Multi-Edit, together with a manual, would cost 300.00.  Not a chance.

I tried all kinds of things to try to learn how to type diacritics in Multi-Edit, but had failed.   When I saw the words "Free Software Foundation" in a small one-column article,   fewer than 15 lines long, my imagination ran wild.

 That was a time before the Internet had grown into what has now become.  Snail mail was the only mail, and on islands like Tol, accessible only by motor boat, and with not mail delivery, the "snails" servicing the mail were extremely slow.  I was spending way too much money on stamps in those days.  I wrote the FSF.  

 

Most of my letters never elicited a reply.  I was, therefore, shocked to receive a small box from the FSF some weeks later!   I had described my lexicon project in my letter to the FSF.  Whoever had read my letter must have understood my plea: I had received over 10 of those plastic 3-1/2" disks full of free software compiled for Microsoft Windows.   Remarkably, included in this package were a number of the Unix text tools, for sorting and manipulating text---beyond my wildest dreams.  And, of course, GNU/Emacs, in the form called "Demacs," a version ported to Microsoft Windows by two Japanese workers.   The unix tools were ported very early during the seminal stages of the Cygwin Project. 

These tools were immediately useful to me.  The biggest deal for me was that Emacs comes with documentation built in, as TexInfo files.   Within a shoret time I was able to figure out how to type in diacritical marks.  At the time, I had plenty of free time, so I was able to read most of the documentation, and set up Emacs to work for me, for useful work.   My innovations, made over the years, are still included in my init file!   

The FSF produced a "GNUS Bulletin", I think quarterly.  I had become a believer in this software, and  I read the GNUS/Bull from cover to cover.   At some point after a couple of years, a small article in the GNUS/Bull announced that two unix clone operating systems had become available:  Linux was one; the other was Free BSD.   When I traveled to Guam, I was able---with help---to download an early version of Slackware Linux.   

GNU/Linux had me, right from the start.  Free Software enabled my project.   Operating System it has been built by community action.  This story has been told many times.  Seldom has it gained traction.  But still, GNU/Linux is a phenomenon.  

As a teacher, at my schools were to be found dedicated administrators: that is, dedicated to buying all the possible proprietary software that government money could buy.   I knew that GNU/Linux was superior.  But it required some learning.   I taught some of my students to install and use GNU/Linux systems, and to build computers from parts.   

Trouble with Inkscape, Fonts, PDFs, Colors

Suddenly, my workflow with Inkscape had gone blewy!  I needed to invert the colors of a graph from Gri, but where for years this has been a routine process in Inkscape, it now had become obscure, or not possible.  Inkscape had gone to version 1.0.  Who'd expect this?

This is still a work in progress.  I reinstalled Manjaro GNU/Linux, was able to process the file, but it was no longer a straightforward matter. 

First, some fonts. 

This may all be a matter of changes I have been making to my Gri workflow.  We'll see. 

No blame.

Brief note on Manjaro and libraries, and install of Arch, then back to Manjaro

Distrohopping has not been my way, of late.  For a few years I have leaned heavily toward Arch Linux's infrastructure.  When stymied by Arch, I have several times thrown up my hands and installed Manjaro.

Manjaro is fine with me.  I am using Manjaro i3 Edition of late.  For over a year, I think.  I'm happy with i3.  Especially on a laptop, a few years old, i3 lag-freekeeps me lag-free.

This week I was furious when I learned that Manjaro (hence Arch) does not support the use of /usr/local.  I'm not ready to write a long piece about this, but it's pretty much the only big deal I have encountered with Arch, requiring an intervention to use it in my accustomed manner, my muscle memory workflow.

Well, maybe Muscle Memory is a little too much to say abot this glitch.  It's a PITA, though.   I installed a library in /usr/local/lib, and discovered that a certain program I had installed would not run, due to the need to take extra measured to ensure that /usr/local/lib would be visible to the linker.

The program was tideeditor, from the xtide suite of programs.  I have been self compiling these programs for years, without encountering this problem.  In about 1993 or 1994, I discovered Debian, or maybe 1995, after using Slackware for some years.  I learned from my experience with Debian the value of the /usr/local subtree: one thereby does not touch the files in the distribution itself.  I can install programs, do anything in /usr/local/ and it is mine, not part of the infrastructure provided by the "maintainers."

This week, after over 25 years of using GNU/Linux, I learned about this problem with /usr/local.  I went overboard, and decided to install Arch.  I was in a rush and apparently made some mistakes---not to mention that my storage is filling up on my Thinkpad Yoga.  The upshot was a rat's nest of errors.  I was unable to use Emacs. 

I had attempted to modify the instructions for a video for installing archlinux in 10 minutes using systemd-boot as the boot manager, while following the Archlinux Installation documentation.  It worked, but I seem to have skipped or messed up some steps, at least twice.  Although the new machine booted fine, I was unable to use Emacs as I am accustomed.

So after fiddling around a full day, and then some, I finalliy reached for Manjaro i3 Edition.

This is a masterpiece of guru magic.  Very well thought out.  A conky on the desktop screen has the important keystrokes on display in any open desktop. 
This installation is working extremely well, as I have modified it over time to fit my needs.  But not least of the fine features of this Manjaro i3 is the setup of the boot manager (which is grub.  That's fine.).  I was able to pick up the previous Manjaro right where I had left off.  And---this is what I like---now that the new Manjaro boot manager set up has been booted through and into the old install, on a different partition, it will remember this and boot to it every time, as long as I want.  That's a stroke of good magick.

Manjaro installed from a flash drive in perhaps 10-15 minutes til first reboot.  Few questions asked.

I follow this simple rule, which leaves me pain free: ALWAYS USE A SEPARATE /home PARTITION.  In any install of a distro, one can (in my experience) always find a way to specify that partition during the install process.  Step 2: I use dropbox for work that needs to be portable, including some config files.

Leaving me time to write the short bit.

By the way...

the program I was installing was tideeditor.  The library is libtcd.  I wrote a hasty email off to David Flater, the developer of Xtide and friends.  He answered with cut and pasted FAQs.  To his credit, he has always answered such inquiries from me, even though I have so often failed to check the FAQs before emailing.

Even more is this to his credit because, as I discovered when re-installing libtcd, a long message at the end, after typing "sudo make install," he has included a long explanation of this very problem---that the library is installed in /usr/local/lib, and that therefore some further steps may be necessary to make the library visible to programs.  WOW!  It's on me.

The best fix is to include a file in /etc/ld.conf.d/ pointing to /usr/local/lib.

And one question remains: why did this not happen on any earlier installs?

Useful Expedient Help: tldr, eg, gnu help2man; cheat for GNU/Linux

A Quick List:

• tldr :: (tl;dr == "too long didn't read") I installed as "tealdeer"
• eg :: gives examples for a given program
• GNU help2man ::  I haven't used, but it makes a man page from "--help" listing
• cheat :: cheat sheet for a given program

Where I'm coming from: 
  One of the things I like the best about GNU is the Man Pages.  It was, I think, a mandate: anyone can write a utility for a Unix-like Operating System, a system which is made up of multitudinous little programs that work together.  Today, it is becoming more common NOT to follow that convention.

  The man page format is something else, however: it seems to assume that the GNU/Linux user (and any Unix-like OS user) is able to read that crazy listing of arcane specs about a program.

TLDR solves my problem, which is the inconvenience of reading through a lengthy man page to figure out how to run a program.

Then I can consult a man page for more focused in advice.

Toward a HOWTO : Modifying cb2Bib to enable the use of the Annotation field natively

[I am posting this, even though it is is a month or two old, and not finished, with the intention of finishing it soon.  A new version of Cb2Bib was recently released.  It is still possible to use a patch to incorporate these modifictions.  AED] 

This Micro-HOWTO describes a method for modifying the source code of Cb3Bib, to make it possible to easily generate annotations and print PDFs of the database with comments or, if you like, annotations.  This is the one thing I have wanted most from Cb2Bib, Pere Constans's amazing reference database program.  More information, and the program itself, can be found on the website.  Most GNU/Linux distribution provides a package for Cb2Bib.

The instructions I am providing are rudimentary.  For now I will provide a patch for Cb2bib's source code, and a revised *bst for LaTeX's BibTeX component.  This is not necessarily easy, but it works.  At some point, I hope to present more thorough instructions.  I will not be able, unfortunately, to provide assistance in setting this up; I have barely been able to get it running myself.

Here's the workflow for literature searches, to generate a reference list for the libraries.

1. Search for the references using Google Scholar
2. Start up cb2bib (it's easier, but not essential, to do it before saving a citation.
3. Having previously set up Google Scholar to produce bibliographic citations in the BibTeX format 
4. Click on the Bibtex link underneath a useful item in the research results.
5. With cb2Bib running, the GUI text input widgets may fill in, if you are fairly luck.
6. If the Author, Title, Etc, text widgets are populated, select a *.bib database file, and save (click on the icon with a Floppy Dist).  Don't worry: this is not a complicated file; it can be edited using a text editor.  Emacs's Bibtex Mode is awesome for this.
7. Open a new window (I think this is an editor window) by clicking on the icon with a pencil on it, to the far right at the bottom.
8. Go to this new window frame, open "Files" and select "Postprocess and show ..", proceed.
9. A pdf will be displayed.  For me it is displayed either by Evince ("DocumentViewer") or Okular.  Whatever is the default.

This workflow is streamlined and easy.

Perhaps even MORE magical is the way Cb2Bib handles a selections from any source, in guiding the generation of a record for the database.  I will not discuss this.  I should mention that Pere Constans has spent a considerable amount of time developing an "Annote" capacity; I have not gotten my head around it, however useful it may be for others.

What is missing for me is a means to type in a comment or annotation, and the automatic inclusion of this comment in the printed PDF.  A trivial benefit would be to present the Call Number of a book. An annotated bibliography is the obvious target for this kind of work flow.

Pere has done a great service to me, in providing instructions how to modify the code to obtain this result. Now, on page 2 of the input screens is found a space to type an "Annotation", where "Annote" used to be.  Through modification of a BibTeX .bst file, to print the Annotation field.

First, the source code must be patched.  I have had to keep my eye out for some minor glitches that may come up during the implementation of the revised program.  I found it necessary to delete all files left behind by a previous copy of Cb2Bib, including files in the ~/.config directory under MOLSpaces.

Patching cb2bib source code