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This is a list of frequently asked questions related to developing applications for the Maemo platform or working on the platform itself. This is in constant evolution, and new questions and answers are welcome.

For user topics, please see the [[User FAQ]].

== What can I do if my question is not mentioned here? ==

# Look if it is discussed already in one of the mailing lists or in [http://talk.maemo.org talk.maemo.org]
# If not post your question in the developer mailing list or in talk
# If you find the answer and you think it could be interesting for others as well post it here, so that we just have to point on this page in the future if the question pops up again.

== Maemo SDK and Scratchbox ==

=== "dbus-monitor" does not work in Scratchbox. What can I do? ===

'''Error messages'''

Typical error messages in this case are:

X86: ~] > dbus-monitor --system
 Failed to open connection to system message bus: Failed to connect to socket /var/run/dbus/system_bus_socket: No such file or directory

or for the session bus:
 
 X86: ~] > dbus-monitor          
 Failed to open connection to session message bus: (null)

or when starting a python app:
 arguments to dbus_connection_get_data() were incorrect, assertion "connection != NULL" failed in file dbus-connection.c
 GLIB ERROR ** default - Not enough memory to set up DBusConnection for use with GLib

'''Solution'''
*Tested in Fremantle Beta, Beta_2
Enter the following lines in the Scratchbox:

eval $(dbus-launch --sh-syntax)
 export DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS
 export DBUS_SESSION_BUS_PID

Then run the dbus-monitor command and it should work fine!

=== "xephyr" fails to start in the host with a dbus security error ===

'''Error messages'''
 [config/dbus] couldn't take over org.x.config: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied (Connection ":1.310" is not allowed to own the service "org.x.config.display2" due to security policies in the configuration file)

'''Solution'''
The display you plan on using for Xephyr (typically :2) just needs to be added to the dbus security file.

You need to edit the following file:
 /etc/dbus-1/system.d/xorg-server.conf

Add the following three lines in the "<code><policy context="default"></code> group
<source lang="xml">
<allow own="org.x.config.display2"/>
<allow send_destination="org.x.config.display2"/>
<allow send_interface="org.x.config.display2"/>
</source>

Basically you should have one for each display you plan on using, by default display 0 and display 1 are in the file. If you are planning on using a different display number for Xephyr than :2 make sure you use its number rather than "display2" when you add these lines.

=== How can I avoid "qemu" error messages of "af-sb-init start" in ARMEL target? ===

'''Error messages'''

Usually the attempt ends up with something like this:

The error was 'BadWindow (invalid Window parameter)'.
 (Details: serial 207 error_code 3 request_code 2 minor_code 0)
 (Note to programmers: normally, X errors are reported asynchronously;
 that is, you will receive the error a while after causing it.
 To debug your program, run it with the --sync command line
 option to change this behavior. You can then get a meaningful
 backtrace from your debugger if you break on the gdk_x_error() function.)
 aborting...
 qemu: uncaught target signal 6 (Aborted) - core dumped

'''Solution'''
* all SDK's

The ARMEL target should not be used for application testing and just for cross compiling. The target is not meant to support this. Please use for any other use than cross-compiling the X86 target.

=== Why do I get "command not found" even though I follow the instructions in the documentation? ===

'''Error messages'''

As an example:

X86: ~] > af-sb-init.sh start
 bash: af-sb-init.sh: command not found

'''Solution'''
After running the installation script you have to install some closed-source packages to have a full installation of the SDK. Most likely these are not installed. Have a look [http://maemo.org/development/sdks/maemo_5_beta_2_sdk_installation/#32bitinstall here] - the last point under installation instructions - how to do that.

=== How to resolve "Scratchbox devkit debian-etch not found" issue? ===

Sometimes while running the install-script of the SDK this error occurs and produces a message like the following:

'''Error messages'''
 
 E: Scratchbox devkit debian-etch not found.
 E: Please complete scratchbox installation first.
 E: Specify an alternative installation path using '-s PATH' option.

'''Solution'''
The problem can be resolved like this (with thanks to Frank Banul in the developer list):

1) add "deb http://scratchbox.org/debian/ maemo5-sdk main" to /etc/apt/sources.list 
 
 2) run:
 sudo apt-get remove scratchbox-devkit-debian
 sudo apt-get install scratchbox-devkit-debian
 sudo apt-get remove scratchbox-devkit-perl
 sudo apt-get install scratchbox-devkit-perl

=== Why can I reach an IP-address but no domain inside Scratchbox? ===

In some cases this happens because of the following reasons:
# Network configuration changed on the host-system, after Scratchbox was installed
# Scratchbox not configured correctly: 
#* Manual installation of SDK was not complete
#* The target was reset

'''Error messages'''
Depends on the program, which is used. But here a small test client in python:

import urllib2
 print urllib2.urlopen("http://google.com").read()

Then the following error message will be returned:

urllib2.URLError: <urlopen error (-3, 'Temporary failure in name resolution')>

'''Solution'''
* Fremantle X86(!), Diablo X86(!)
In any cases it is most likely that the resolv.conf of the Scratchbox is not set up correctly. The following solutions for this issue can solve the problem:

# Network configuration change: Copy the resolv.conf from the host system into the scratchbox/etc folder:

sudo cp /etc/resolv.conf /scratchbox/etc/resolv.conf

If the problem is still the same try 2.:

# Scratchbox configuration: This might be the case, if the target was reset or manual installed, without using the script. In this case run:

SBOX> sb-conf in -edFL

This sets the /scratchbox/etc/resolv.conf as default and ignores the one of the scratchbox. Info about the command you'll find [http://maemo.org/development/sdks/maemo_5_beta_2_sdk_installation/#manualinstall here].

These steps should solve the problem. If it still does not work, you could try to replace the entries of the resolv.conf '''within''' the scratchbox with the same entries of the resolv.conf of the '''host''' system by hand.

=== Script "af-sb-init.sh start" aborting ===

Sometimes it happens, that the script aborts just after starting. A problem might be, that old processes are still active, and cause the error. Indicator that this might be the reason are the following lines after the startup:

'''Indicator'''

_X86: ~] > af-sb-init.sh start
 ...
 DBUS system bus is already running, doing nothing
 D-BUS session bus daemon is already running, doing nothing
 Starting Maemo Launcher: maemo-launcher start failed.
 Sapwood image server is already running, doing nothing
 ...
 aborting...

This shows, that old processes are still running, which might cause problems in starting up the framework again.

''' Solution '''

To solve this stop the framework, kill all old processes and start it again. This can be done by:

* stop the framework:
 ~] > af-sb-init.sh stop

* kill old processes:
 ~] > sb-conf killall

* restart:
 ~] > af-sb-init.sh start

=== How to install the SDK+ on a Linux AMD64 platform? ===

The Maemo SDK+ package includes scratchbox 2 and Qt, but it will only install on 32-bit platforms. If you're running Debian with a 64-bit kernel, Maemo SDK+ can be installed into a chrooted 32-bit environment that sits on top of your 64-bit platform.

'''Solution'''

[[Maemo_SDK%2B_installation_on_Debian_(AMD64)|This guide]] takes you through all the steps to the point of compilation and running the test.

=== QEMU error running cmake in ARMEL target in Fremantle? ===

'''Indicator'''
 qemu: uncaught target signal 11 (Segmentation fault) - core dumped
 make: *** [cmake_check_build_system] Error 126

''' Solution '''
Check the version of cmake. Using version 2.6.3-2maemo4+0m5 should solve the problem.

=== Git error when trying to clone/pull from https repositories ===

'''Indicator'''
  error: error setting certificate verify locations:
    CAfile: /usr/share/curl/curl-ca-bundle.crt
    CApath: none
  
  warning: remote HEAD refers to nonexistent ref, unable to checkout.

'''Solution'''

Place the CA bundle where curl can find it:
  ~] > mkdir /usr/share/curl
  ~] > ln -s /scratchbox/devkits/git/share/curl/curl-ca-bundle.crt /usr/share/curl/

See also [https://bugs.maemo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=4953 bug 4953].

== Porting to Fremantle ==

This section is intended to consolidate the common errors that occur while trying to port [[Open development/Maemo roadmap/Diablo|Diablo]] applications to [[Open development/Maemo roadmap/Fremantle|Fremantle]]. Feel free to improve this page and/or add additional information.

===maemo-select-menu-location: command not found===
 
'''Typical error message'''
 scratchbox/tools/bin/sh: line 1: /usr/sbin/dpkg-preconfigure: No such file or directory
 Setting up leafpad (0.8.16le-0maemo2) ...
 gtk-update-icon-cache: Cache file created successfully.
 /var/lib/dpkg/info/leafpad.postinst: line 7: maemo-select-menu-location: command not found
 dpkg: error processing leafpad (--configure): subprocess post-installation script returned error exit  status 127

'''Reason'''
:maemo-select-menu-location is obsolete. In Fremantle, there is no submenu like, "Utility", "Extra", "Settings" etc. All installed 3rd party software will be visible under "Applications" by default.

'''Action'''
:Remove the instance from the post installation script. It is not needed.

===Missing dependency: maemo-installer-utils===

'''Reason'''
:The package <code>hildon-application-manager</code> no longer provides <code>maemo-installer-utils</code>. The commands <code>maemo-confirm-text</code>, <code>maemo-application-running</code>, <code>maemo-list-user-packages</code> are  still available.

'''Action'''
:Replace the dependency with <code>hildon-application-manager</code>.

===Missing dependency: libhildonhelp0===

'''Reason'''
:libhildonhelp does not exist in Fremantle.

'''Action'''
:Remove the dependency and calls to the help APIs.

===Limitation of Home Area applets===

Unlike Diablo, in Fremantle these applets do not support text input, pannable areas, resizing nor scrolling.

'''Reason'''
:Framework limitations.

'''Action'''
:Replace text input fields with dialogs. Use buttons for scrolling. Add resizing options in the settings dialog or adapt the UI of the applet regarding to that. For further information on how to develop those applets, please check the [[Documentation/Maemo_5_Developer_Guide/Application_Development/Writing_Desktop_Widgets|documentation]].

===What icon size should be used?===

With Fremantle the size specifications of the icons are different from Diablo:

'''Application Manager'''
* Icon size: HILDON_ICON_SIZE_FINGER.
* In Gimp or Photoshop: 48x48 pixels

'''Task Launcher'''
* Icon size: HILDON_ICON_SIZE_THUMB.
* In Gimp or Photoshop: 64x64 pixels

Using icons for the task launcher, please remember to run the following in your postinst file:

gtk-update-icon-cache -f /usr/share/icons/hicolor

===Text and icons in dialogs===

'''Problem'''
:The text in dialog boxes is not formatted correctly (truncated on the right size), when a icon is in place.

'''Action'''
:In general icons should not be used in dialogs in Fremantle. Remove the icon and the text will be formatted correctly.

===Initialisation scripts===

'''Problem'''
:Initialisation scripts don't work any more.

'''Reason'''
:Fremantle has switched to using '''upstart''' for system initialisation.

'''Action'''
:Create '''upstart''' job definitions instead of init scripts.  Information on writing these can be found on http://upstart.ubuntu.com/getting-started.html. However, be aware that the directory used on Maemo 5 is <code>/etc/event.d</code>.
:The job script should be placed in /etc/event.d/''package''.  And the package postinst, prerm and postrm should use the ''start --quiet'' and ''stop --quiet'' commands to start and stop the service.  Unfortunately there is no debhelper tool to assist with this.

=== Enabling sudo for user installed scripts ===

'''Problem'''
:Users tend to want to edit /etc/sudoers to allow a command provided by a script they created to run with raise privileges. This is highly likely to result in a bricked device forcing you to re-flash to make it work again from scratch.

'''Reason'''
:The /etc/sudoers file seems deceivingly straight forward to edit. It's not:
   <code>
    17:27 < MohammadAG51> listen to that advice<BR>
    17:27 < MohammadAG51> don't be a smartass like I did once
   </code>

'''Action'''
:Add your specific sudo configuration to "/etc/sudoers.d/*" as a new file (courtuesy to the reader, you are advice to read [http://www.sudo.ws/sudo/sudoers.man.html this] to understand how to create sudoers.d/ snippets appropriate for your application or script.
:Run update-sudores and profit.

== Qt ==

=== Where to find a Maemo Qt API Reference? ===
There is a [[Qt4 Hildon|Qt page on the wiki]] with some useful information, and [http://qt.nokia.com/doc/qt-maemo-4.6/index.html official Qt for Maemo documentation].

=== How to create "[[Documentation/Maemo_5_Developer_Guide/Human_Interface_Guidelines/Windows#Window_Views|HildonStackableWindows]]"?===

This is done by setting a special attribute on the window, as shown in the [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/qt-maemo-4.6/maemo5-stackedwindows.html Qt Maemo 5 stacked window example].

== Autobuilder ==

=== Localization isn't working ===

You are probably using the following line in <code>configure.ac</code>:

localedir=`$PKG_CONFIG osso-af-settings --variable=localedir`

This means that you need to add <code>osso-af-settings</code> to your Build-Depends.

=== Package gets rejected: REJECTED: The same or newer version is already in extras-devel ===

You can't upload the same version to the repository twice. If you have changed anything in your package, you should increase your version number or package revision.

=== Build failed: No such file or directory in log file ===

You probably forgot to specify the correct Build-Depends in debian/control. The autobuilder starts every build with a clean SDK image. If you need any application during building which is not available in the default SDK image, you need to specify it specifically.

You may verify that your Build-Depends field in debian/control is complete by running

dpkg-depcheck -m dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -b

in the source tree.  (You'll need to <code>fakeroot apt-get install devscripts</code> for this to work).

=== Build failed, works in my own scratchbox ===

See the answer above.

== Extras ==

=== How can I package software for Maemo? ===

{{main|Documentation/Maemo 5 Developer Guide/Packaging, Deploying and Distributing}}

As Maemo is based on the Debian operating system, creating packages for Maemo borrows a lot of tools and techniques from Debian, however there are [[Packaging#Maemo-specific packaging information|some Maemo-specific differences]].

A [[Packaging|simple guide to get started]] is available.

=== How do I request upload rights for Extras ===

You can [https://garage.maemo.org/extras-assistant/index.php?target=invitation_request request an invitation] via the Extras Assistant.

=== How do I enable extras, extras-testing, and extras-devel in Scratchbox ===

Add the following lines to /etc/apt/sources.list from within scratchbox:
 deb http://repository.maemo.org/extras/ fremantle free non-free
 deb-src http://repository.maemo.org/extras/ fremantle free
 
 deb http://repository.maemo.org/extras-testing/ fremantle free non-free
 deb-src http://repository.maemo.org/extras-testing/ fremantle free
 
 deb http://repository.maemo.org/extras-devel/ fremantle free non-free
 deb-src http://repository.maemo.org/extras-devel/ fremantle free

Then run the following commands from within scratchbox:
 cd /tmp
 wget http://repository.maemo.org/extras-devel/dists/fremantle/fremantle-extras-pubkey.asc
 apt-key add fremantle-extras-pubkey.asc
 apt-get update
 apt-get update

Yes, running apt-get update twice is sometimes needed.

If you get errors where apt cannot find the keyring, then the above commands should fix that.

[[Category:Development]]
[[Category:Scratchbox]]
[[Category:Fremantle]]

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@@ Line 106: / Line 106: @@
 The problem can be resolved like this (with thanks to Frank Banul in the developer list):
-<ol>
+) add "deb http://scratchbox.org/debian/ maemo5-sdk main" to /etc/apt/sources.list
-<li>
-add <pre>deb http://scratchbox.org/debian/ maemo5-sdk main</pre> to <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code>
+) run:
-</li>
+ sudo apt-get remove scratchbox-devkit-debian
-<li>
+ sudo apt-get install scratchbox-devkit-debian
-run:
+ sudo apt-get remove scratchbox-devkit-perl
-<pre>
+ sudo apt-get install scratchbox-devkit-perl
-sudo apt-get remove scratchbox-devkit-debian
-sudo apt-get install scratchbox-devkit-debian
-sudo apt-get remove scratchbox-devkit-perl
-sudo apt-get install scratchbox-devkit-perl
-</pre>
-</li>
-</ol>
 === Why can I reach an IP-address but no domain inside Scratchbox? ===
@@ Line 131: / Line 124: @@
 '''Error messages'''
 Depends on the program, which is used. But here a small test client in python:
-<source lang="python">
-import urllib2
+ import urllib2
-print urllib2.urlopen("http://google.com").read()
+ print urllib2.urlopen("http://google.com").read()
-</source>
 Then the following error message will be returned:
@@ Line 154: / Line 146: @@
   SBOX> sb-conf in -edFL
-This sets the <code>/scratchbox/etc/resolv.conf</code> as default and ignores the one of the scratchbox. Info about the command you'll find [http://maemo.org/development/sdks/maemo_5_beta_2_sdk_installation/#manualinstall here].
+This sets the /scratchbox/etc/resolv.conf as default and ignores the one of the scratchbox. Info about the command you'll find [http://maemo.org/development/sdks/maemo_5_beta_2_sdk_installation/#manualinstall here].
 These steps should solve the problem. If it still does not work, you could try to replace the entries of the resolv.conf '''within''' the scratchbox with the same entries of the resolv.conf of the '''host''' system by hand.
@@ Line 179: / Line 171: @@
 To solve this stop the framework, kill all old processes and start it again. This can be done by:
-# stop the framework:<pre>af-sb-init.sh stop</pre>
+* stop the framework:
-# kill old processes:<pre>sb-conf killall</pre>
+ ~] > af-sb-init.sh stop
-# restart:<pre>af-sb-init.sh start</pre>
+* kill old processes:
+ ~] > sb-conf killall
+* restart:
+ ~] > af-sb-init.sh start
 === How to install the SDK+ on a Linux AMD64 platform? ===
@@ Line 218: / Line 215: @@
 == Porting to Fremantle ==
-{{main|Documentation/Maemo 5 Developer Guide/Porting Software}}
 This section is intended to consolidate the common errors that occur while trying to port [[Open development/Maemo roadmap/Diablo|Diablo]] applications to [[Open development/Maemo roadmap/Fremantle|Fremantle]]. Feel free to improve this page and/or add additional information.
@@ Line 269: / Line 264: @@
 '''Application Manager'''
-* Icon size: <code>HILDON_ICON_SIZE_FINGER</code>
+* Icon size: HILDON_ICON_SIZE_FINGER.
 * In Gimp or Photoshop: 48x48 pixels
 '''Task Launcher'''
-* Icon size: <code>HILDON_ICON_SIZE_THUMB</code>
+* Icon size: HILDON_ICON_SIZE_THUMB.
 * In Gimp or Photoshop: 64x64 pixels
@@ Line 298: / Line 293: @@
 '''Action'''
 :Create '''upstart''' job definitions instead of init scripts.  Information on writing these can be found on http://upstart.ubuntu.com/getting-started.html. However, be aware that the directory used on Maemo 5 is <code>/etc/event.d</code>.
-:The job script should be placed in <code>/etc/event.d/''package''</code>.  And the package postinst, prerm and postrm should use the ''start --quiet'' and ''stop --quiet'' commands to start and stop the service.  Unfortunately there is no debhelper tool to assist with this.
+:The job script should be placed in /etc/event.d/''package''.  And the package postinst, prerm and postrm should use the ''start --quiet'' and ''stop --quiet'' commands to start and stop the service.  Unfortunately there is no debhelper tool to assist with this.
@@ Line 304: / Line 299: @@
 '''Problem'''
-:Users tend to want to edit /etc/sudoers to allow a command provided by a script they created to run with raised privileges. This is highly likely to result in a bricked device forcing you to re-flash to make it work again from scratch.
+:Users tend to want to edit /etc/sudoers to allow a command provided by a script they created to run with raise privileges. This is highly likely to result in a bricked device forcing you to re-flash to make it work again from scratch.
 '''Reason'''
-:The <code>/etc/sudoers</code> file seems deceivingly straight forward to edit. It's not:
+:The /etc/sudoers file seems deceivingly straight forward to edit. It's not:
     <code>
 :27 < MohammadAG51> listen to that advice<BR>
@@ Line 314: / Line 309: @@
 '''Action'''
-:Add your specific sudo configuration to "<code>/etc/sudoers.d/*</code>" as a new file (courtuesy to the reader, you are advised to read [http://www.sudo.ws/sudo/sudoers.man.html this] to understand how to create sudoers.d/ snippets appropriate for your application or script.
+:Add your specific sudo configuration to "/etc/sudoers.d/*" as a new file (courtuesy to the reader, you are advice to read [http://www.sudo.ws/sudo/sudoers.man.html this] to understand how to create sudoers.d/ snippets appropriate for your application or script.
-:Run update-sudoers and profit.
+:Run update-sudores and profit.
 == Qt ==
@@ Line 342: / Line 337: @@
 === Build failed: No such file or directory in log file ===
-You probably forgot to specify the correct Build-Depends in <code>debian/control</code>. The autobuilder starts every build with a clean SDK image. If you need any application during building which is not available in the default SDK image, you need to specify it specifically.
+You probably forgot to specify the correct Build-Depends in debian/control. The autobuilder starts every build with a clean SDK image. If you need any application during building which is not available in the default SDK image, you need to specify it specifically.
 You may verify that your Build-Depends field in debian/control is complete by running
@@ Line 348: / Line 343: @@
   dpkg-depcheck -m dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -b
-in the source tree.  (You'll need to "<code>fakeroot apt-get install devscripts</code>" for this to work).
+in the source tree.  (You'll need to <code>fakeroot apt-get install devscripts</code> for this to work).
 === Build failed, works in my own scratchbox ===
@@ Line 370: / Line 365: @@
 === How do I enable extras, extras-testing, and extras-devel in Scratchbox ===
-Add the following lines to <code>/etc/apt/sources.list</code> from within scratchbox:
+Add the following lines to /etc/apt/sources.list from within scratchbox:
   deb http://repository.maemo.org/extras/ fremantle free non-free
   deb-src http://repository.maemo.org/extras/ fremantle free