Author Topic: Running Plucker On The Zaurus (Read 4101 times)

homeridian · « **on:** March 07, 2005, 04:41:31 pm »

I'm running the plucker distiller 1.8 on the zaurus using kopsis' python image to update my .pdb files when travelling. Everything works fine --- except the image conversion:

Plucker suggests four different methods to convert downloaded images: ImageMagick, netpbm2, pil2 or windows image parser. I got a version of ImageMagick for the zaurus that didn't work with plucker, and couldn't get the others (didn't expect to find the windows image parser for the z, actually...).

Does anyone have experience with this? Or any suggestions for a better (and maybe faster) solution? I used wget already, but I like the compact, one-file and optimized-for-small-screen results from plucker.

Thanks,

Carsten

Tehas · « **Reply #1 on:** March 07, 2005, 11:30:38 pm »

I have a different approach. I have a Linux server running at home so what I did was to install jPluck on the server and configured it to pluck my various news sites. I made a script to run jPluck, take the output files & tar/gzip them, and finally ftp/put them to my website area on my ISP. I added the script to cron and set it up to run about 4 times a day.

The last step was to set up a script on my Zaurus that connects to the ISP and ftp/gets the tar/gzip file then gunzip & untar the plucker files to my SD card. I even added dialog boxes to the script using opie-sh and set it up as an icon on one of my tabs.

Stubear · « **Reply #2 on:** March 08, 2005, 06:19:30 am »

I never had much luck with plucker distiller and images (on the Z or my linux box) so I changed to jpluck on the desktop and haven't looked back.

Probably some kind of library incompatability but never got it sorted

Stu

TimW · « **Reply #3 on:** March 08, 2005, 06:50:46 am »

I think pil is available on kopsis' image (and in the OZ feeds) but it is called python-image. Have you tried using it and it failed, or did you assume that it wasn't there?

Failing that, I did make a cut down version of the distiller for the Zaurus which didn't convert the images to palm format (which is a waste of CPU on the Zaurus) and then added a plug-in to opie-reader which used the QT image classes to display the images.

I still use it on my desktop but I can't remember which version of Plucker it was based on. It had a couple of other tweaks, like images bigger than 64kb (rather than the patch-work which the plucker parser does), pages bigger than 32kb (the version in the plucker parser is partially based on my work) and compression chunks larger than 32kb to provide better compression. These also had the side effect of cutting down on the amount of memory and processing power required to do the pluck. Let me know if you are interested in that and I'll dig it out along with the version of opie-reader which supports it (its part of the standard build, now, but I don't think I've done a full release since I did that).

I've also done a version of rbmake which runs on the zaurus and which uses even better compression than the enhanced plucker. I haven't used it much for downloads off the internet but I know that it doesn't work quite as well as plucker at following redirects etc....but it does compress the entire english wikipedia to about 264MB (I didn't run *that* session of the Zaurus 8^) ). Plus it is in C++ so runs a lot faster.

you can e-mail me if you are interested and don't want to clutter up the thread with requests: timwentford at hotmail dot com
(if you include the text "reader" (without quotes) somewhere in the subject you stand a better chance of avoiding the spam filter).

homeridian · « **Reply #4 on:** March 08, 2005, 07:21:30 am »

Hi Tim,

I think I tried pil, but it didn't work either; and I have no idea how to point plucker to use python-image from kopsis' version. But I will try...

Anyway, I'm really interested in your special versions of plucker and opie-reader and will contact you via email!

Carsten

TimW · « **Reply #5 on:** March 08, 2005, 08:36:24 am »

Quote

Hi Tim,

I think I tried pil, but it didn't work either; and I have no idea how to point plucker to use python-image from kopsis' version. But I will try...

Anyway, I'm really interested in your special versions of plucker and opie-reader and will contact you via email!

Carsten
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To get pil used as the image parser you put

image_parser=pil2

in the pluckerrc file. To be honest, I found it didn't always work either so I usually cheat and edit ImageParser.py to make get_default_parser return "pil2". The "python-image" reference in my post isn't about a setting for image_parser but more about that the name "pil" isn't always used to identify the files you need to have installed to be able to use pil, ie that it is worth trying to use pil even if you don't think it is installed (which it sounds like you have already done).

I've got the mail and will try and sort something for you ASAP.

homeridian · « **Reply #6 on:** March 08, 2005, 08:56:28 am »

Tim,

you're right, I tried the setting

image_parser=pil2

in the pluckerrc file and --- as far as I remember --- it was complaining about not finding something...

Maybe I'll play around some more, and wait for your special version!

TimW · « **Reply #7 on:** March 11, 2005, 07:16:39 am »

It looks like the plucker parser I posted to homeridian works with the kopsis python distro.

So if anyone else wants a copy and is comfortable with the command line plucker distiller let me know.

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Author Topic: Running Plucker On The Zaurus (Read 4101 times)