[Bug 37555] New: Request for enhancement: add alsa-lib-devel message when ./configure can't find Pulse Audio
https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37555
Bug ID: 37555 Summary: Request for enhancement: add alsa-lib-devel message when ./configure can't find Pulse Audio Product: Wine Version: 1.7.30 Hardware: x86 OS: Linux Status: UNCONFIRMED Severity: enhancement Priority: P2 Component: -unknown Assignee: wine-bugs@winehq.org Reporter: ToddAndMargo@zoho.com Distribution: ---
Hi Guys,
Would you consider the following enhancement:
When running "./configure" on Wine-1.7.30, and "./configure" can not find the Audio Driver (as in it can't find the Pulse Audio driver), you get the following frustrating/bogus/nonsensical error message:
"configure: WARNING: No sound system was found. Windows applications will be silent."
This is an especially confusing message to see, whilst you listen to music on VLC.
When this error appears, would mind looking to see if alsa-lib-devel.i686 is installed? And if not, asking for it or making come comment about it?
If you don't mind, I would like you to consider rewriting the error message too:
"configure: WARNING: No sound system was found. If you are using Pulse Audio, please install the alsa-lib-devel package."
Thank you for your consideration.
-T
https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37555
--- Comment #1 from Rosanne DiMesio dimesio@earthlink.net --- Todd, you are making the mistake of assuming that the way your distro does things is the way everyone does it. In Linux, packaging conventions, including package names, vary greatly by distro: e.g., alsa-lib-devel.i686 is NOT the name of the package I had to install on openSUSE. And ALSA is not used at all on MacOSX or FreeBSD.
You are also incorrect in thinking that PulseAudio is a sound driver and that Wine looks for it. PulseAudio is a sound server that depends on either the ALSA or OSS driver, and it's the latter two (plus CoreAudio, the Mac audio driver) that configure looks for.
Configure has to work for all systems on which Wine might be built, so checking for a specific package or suggesting one to install is not feasible, and even a general message about ALSA would be incorrect for systems that don't use it.
However, I do agree the message "No sound system was found" is confusing to inexperienced users. Most of the time, only the 32 bit files are missing. Something like "No supported 32 bit sound system found" might be better. .
https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37555
--- Comment #2 from Todd Chester ToddAndMargo@zoho.com --- (In reply to Rosanne DiMesio from comment #1)
However, I do agree the message "No sound system was found" is confusing to inexperienced users. Most of the time, only the 32 bit files are missing. Something like "No supported 32 bit sound system found" might be better.
Hi Rosanne,
Basically, I think that whatever information ./configure has would be helpful to the person trying to evaluate the error messages. I like the idea of "no supported 32 bit ...". (I did have the 64 bit alsa drive installed.) If you have additional OS specific information, that would also be good, such as what you are looking for on what OS.
So, I guess what I am after is a more rational messages to help the next poor sod that tries to ./configure Wine.
And yes, I got the error message whilst listen to music. A=B, unless it is Tuesday, then A=C, unless the moon is overhead, then A=D, or its is leap year and a herd of wildebeest ... You get the point. One shouldn't have to rely on the charity of others to ./configure the thing. And I do know that is a large task to ask. Chipping away at it is the best way to do it on my opinion.
And I do realize that "the software is never finished". Been there done that too.
On the bright side, I am enjoying all the bug fixes in 1.7.30 (over 1.6.1). Thank you guys!
-T
https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37555
--- Comment #3 from Henri Verbeet hverbeet@gmail.com --- (In reply to Rosanne DiMesio from comment #1)
However, I do agree the message "No sound system was found" is confusing to inexperienced users. Most of the time, only the 32 bit files are missing. Something like "No supported 32 bit sound system found" might be better. .
I suppose it might help to specifically mention "${notice_platform}development files", like most of the other messages for missing libraries and the like, instead of referring to "sound system" in general, although I'd also argue that that's implied by the message coming from configure.
The harder problem is of course that we can't know if the user wants to use Alsa, OSS, CoreAudio, or perhaps in the future PulseAudio, which makes it hard to talk about a specific package.
https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37555
--- Comment #4 from Todd Chester ToddAndMargo@zoho.com --- (In reply to Henri Verbeet from comment #3)
(In reply to Rosanne DiMesio from comment #1)
However, I do agree the message "No sound system was found" is confusing to inexperienced users. Most of the time, only the 32 bit files are missing. Something like "No supported 32 bit sound system found" might be better. .
I suppose it might help to specifically mention "${notice_platform}development files", like most of the other messages for missing libraries and the like, instead of referring to "sound system" in general, although I'd also argue that that's implied by the message coming from configure.
The harder problem is of course that we can't know if the user wants to use Alsa, OSS, CoreAudio, or perhaps in the future PulseAudio, which makes it hard to talk about a specific package.
Hi Henri,
I think it is all in the wording. "If you wish to enable a sound system on [insert OS], please add [insert applicable package]..." Or something like that.
Basically, ./configure has to know what specific OS's sound package to look for or it could never load the appropriate package, so it does have to have knowledge of what it needs. And relaying that to the user is what I am after.
-T
https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37555
--- Comment #5 from Henri Verbeet hverbeet@gmail.com --- (In reply to Todd Chester from comment #4)
Basically, ./configure has to know what specific OS's sound package to look for or it could never load the appropriate package,
That's not really how it works right now. Configure basically just checks if any of ALSA, OSSv4 or CoreAudio is present. I.e., it checks for all of them and then we use what's present.
In terms of likely packages it's CoreAudio for OS X, Alsa for Linux, and OSS for BSD, but people use OSS on Linux as well, and a potential future PulseAudio driver would complicate the Linux case further.
https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37555
--- Comment #6 from Rosanne DiMesio dimesio@earthlink.net --- (In reply to Henri Verbeet from comment #3)
I suppose it might help to specifically mention "${notice_platform}development files", like most of the other messages for missing libraries and the like, instead of referring to "sound system" in general, although I'd also argue that that's implied by the message coming from configure.
The meaning is obvious to anyone with even a little bit of experience, which is probably why no one's ever brought it up before. But I know from having to explain it on the forum multiple times that it's not obvious to the newbiest segment. And really, the wording should be consistent with the wording of the other messages.
The harder problem is of course that we can't know if the user wants to use Alsa, OSS, CoreAudio, or perhaps in the future PulseAudio, which makes it hard to talk about a specific package.
I don't think that's necessary. Users are responsible for knowing what's on their system.
https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37555
jumbo jc.xxxiv@gmail.com changed:
What |Removed |Added ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CC| |jc.xxxiv@gmail.com
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