Problem with Synergy application after dist-upgrade

[Snowhog]

The following is from my apt-get log when I first installed synergy from the standard repository, then purged it and quicksynergy in favor of the more robust synergy-1.4.10-Linux-x86_64.deb from the developers site.

2012-08-20
(install)
The following NEW packages will be installed:
synergy
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
(install)
The following NEW packages will be installed:
indicator-application libappindicator1 libappindicator3-1 libindicator3-7
libindicator7 quicksynergy
0 upgraded, 6 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
(purge)
The following packages will be REMOVED:
quicksynergy*
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
(install)
The following NEW packages will be installed:
indicator-application libappindicator1 libappindicator3-1 libindicator3-7
libindicator7 quicksynergy
0 upgraded, 6 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
(purge)
The following packages will be REMOVED:
quicksynergy* synergy*
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 2 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
(installed via QApt Package Installer)
synergy-1.4.10-Linux-x86_64.deb

Then, yesterday, I was informed that synergy was to be upgraded.

2012-12-23
(dist-upgrade)
The following packages will be upgraded:
synergy
1 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

The application synergy, which I had installed from the downloaded deb file (1.4.10) was downgraded (?), or at least, applications it originally installed were removed.

Muon > Versions
Available versions:
1.4.10-1~ubuntu12.04.1 (precise-backports)
1.3.8-1ubuntu1 (precise)


Architecture: amd64
Version: 1.3.8-1ubuntu1
Depends: libc6 (>= 2.4), libgcc1 (>= 1:4.1.1), libstdc++6 (>= 4.6), libx11-6 (>= 2:1.2.99.901), libxext6, libxi6 (>= 2:1.2.99.4), libxinerama1, libxtst6
Filename: pool/universe/s/synergy/synergy_1.3.8-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb
data.tar.gz:
usr/bin/synergyc
usr/bin/synergys


Architecture: amd64
Version: 1.4.10-1~ubuntu12.04.1
Depends: libc6 (>= 2.14), libgcc1 (>= 1:4.1.1), libstdc++6 (>= 4.6), libx11-6 (>= 2:1.2.99.901), libxext6, libxi6 (>= 2:1.2.99.4), libxinerama1, libxtst6
Filename: pool/universe/s/synergy/synergy_1.4.10-1~ubuntu12.04.1_amd64.deb
data.tar.gz:
usr/bin/synergy
usr/bin/synergyc
usr/bin/synergyd
usr/bin/synergys


apt-cache show libc6 | grep Version
Version: 2.15-0ubuntu10.3
Version: 2.15-0ubuntu10.2
Version: 2.15-0ubuntu10

synergy* files now installed after the dist-upgrade:

paul@tanagra:/usr/bin$ ls -la synergy*
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 603752 Dec 26 2011 synergyc
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 812680 Dec 26 2011 synergys

Given that the installed version of libc6 is 2.1.5, and synergy 1.3.8 calls for libc6 at version >=2.4, I have to assume that I am still running synergy 1.4.10. However, given the contents of the data.tar.gz contained in the downloaded synergy_1.3.8-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb file, and comparing it to what is now in usr/bin, it looks like it was used, resulting in the removal of usr/bin/synergy and usr/bin/synergyd.

Bottom line is that now, after this *upgrade/dist-upgrade* of synergy, I no longer have the application synergy and have to use quicksynergy instead. Synergy 1.4.10 was working just fine until yesterday.

Thoughts? Comments?

[claydoh]

As far as I recall quicksynergy is a simple gui frontend to synergy, the actual program (cli)

The version from the developer site
synergy-1.4.10-Linux-x86_64.deb
the version in the backports repo
1.4.10-1~ubuntu12.04.1


So the -1 I think makes the ubuntu-backport version supersede the one from the dev site, though they are the same versions code-wise.

(probably restating the obvious here)
Quicksynergy is a separate project from synergy itself so if quicksynergy is working, then so is synergy (the backend)

I don't 100% follow what happened, as it seems you uninstalled both Synergy and Quicksynergy, but you still received an update notification for a package you uninstalled?

I stopped using Synergy when I stopped using my arm board as a simple media center, but I do recall upgrading from Lucid's version to whatever was current last summer (from the developer's site) and having to change the commands I was using to run it as an autostart script, though the GUI tool worked just fine. Of course I have zero memory of what I did, and the microsd card the OS sat on has long been wiped and reutilized I will try using my extra memory socket connection (aka google ) to see if I can recall the information.

[Snowhog]

(moved to 12.04 Software Support)

I originally started out using quicksynergy. Within the repositories, installing quicksynergy also installs synergy. Here, in 12.04, that is version 1.3.8. Version 1.4.10 of synergy, downloaded as a .deb package from the developers site, was, when installed back in August, much better than quicksynergy, and in fact, didn't require quicksynergy in order to run -- it installed the application, daemon, client, and server binaries. I much prefer this version of synergy, and it worked just fine until yesterday, when the upgrade/dist-upgrade removed the synergy binary and it's daemon. Re-installing (sudo dpkg -i) the downloaded 1.4.10 .deb gets me back what I want, but then apt sees that an upgrade to synergy is available and if I dist-upgrade (or upgrade -- I've tried it both ways), then it again removes the binary and daemon.

Even on my 12.10 32-bit laptop, the 'available' version of synergy, through the repositories, is 1.3.8.

[Snowhog]

This is the content of the synergy 1.4.10 control file:

control.tar.gzPackage: synergy
Version: 1.4.10
Section: devel
Priority: optional
Architecture: amd64
Installed-Size: 3162592
Maintainer: http://synergy-foss.org/
Description: Synergy server and client

And the content of the synergy 1.3.8 control file:

Package: synergy
Version: 1.3.8-1ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
Maintainer: Ubuntu Developers <ubuntu-devel-discuss@lists.ubuntu.com>
Installed-Size: 1439
Depends: libc6 (>= 2.4), libgcc1 (>= 1:4.1.1), libstdc++6 (>= 4.6), libx11-6 (>= 2:1.2.99.901), libxext6, libxi6 (>= 2:1.2.99.4), libxinerama1, libxtst6
Section: x11
Priority: optional
Homepage: http://synergy-foss.org/
Description: Share mouse, keyboard and clipboard over the network
Synergy lets you easily share a single mouse and keyboard between
multiple computers with different operating systems, each with its
own display, without special hardware. It's intended for users
with multiple computers on their desk since each system uses its
own display.
.
Redirecting the mouse and keyboard is as simple as moving the mouse
off the edge of your screen. Synergy also merges the clipboards of
all the systems into one, allowing cut-and-paste between systems.
Furthermore, it synchronizes screen savers so they all start and stop
together and, if screen locking is enabled, only one screen requires
a password to unlock them all.
.
Packages for Windows/MacOS/RPM and Sources can be found at
http://sourceforge.net/project/showf...group_id=59275
Original-Maintainer: Jeff Licquia <licquia@debian.org>

I'm thinking that I need to create an /etc/apt/preferences with this content:

Package: synergy
Pin: version 1.4*
Pin-Priority: 1001

in order to prevent apt from seeing the 1.4.10 file as needing updating from the repositories.

Okay. Created the preferences file on both PC's. Purged synergy and quicksynergy, then re-installed the 1.4.10 downloaded .deb file via dpkg. Needed to re-install quicksynergy on both PC's so that I could 'see' synergy when it is launched. But, apt still wants to upgrade synergy!!

On my 12.04 64-bit PC:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade --simulate
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
The following packages will be upgraded:
synergy
1 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Inst synergy [1.4.10] (1.4.10-1~ubuntu12.04.1 Ubuntu:12.04/precise-backports [amd64])
Conf synergy (1.4.10-1~ubuntu12.04.1 Ubuntu:12.04/precise-backports [amd64])

On my 12.10 32-bit PC:

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade --simulate
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
The following packages will be upgraded:
synergy
1 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
Inst synergy [1.4.10] (1.4.10-1~ubuntu12.10.1 Ubuntu:12.10/quantal-backports [i386])
Conf synergy (1.4.10-1~ubuntu12.10.1 Ubuntu:12.10/quantal-backports [i386])

What am I missing here? I am convinced that if I go ahead with the dist-upgrade that it will, again, remove /usr/bin/synergy and /usr/bin/synergyd.

Solved! Version 1.4.10-1 was going to be installed from the standard repositories, and it in fact, doesn't include the /usr/bin/synergy or /usr/bin/synergyd binaries. So, I modified the version in the preferences file and it now looks like this on both PC's:

Package: synergy
Pin: version 1.4.10
Pin-Priority: 1001

Now, after updating the package cache, I am no longer notified that synergy is upgradable. I have what I want (again) and am happy (again).

Whew.

[claydoh]

Yes, as ubuntu's package versioning of the backports package is "newer" than the one from the developers so you may have to pin that version perhaps?

What I am seeing looking at the packaging is that the Debian maintainer (and hence the Ubuntu automated imported package - in Universe) does not build the Qt gui, or the packaging simply failed to have the gui file included in the deb. There is a ppa or two, but pinning the version that works might be the most stable way to go.

[Snowhog]

Yes, that's what I did -- changed the pin version to 1.4.10 specifically with a priority of 1001. Now apt doesn't want to upgrade synergy and I am back with what I have been used to since installing synergy 1.4.10 from the developer.