Flatpak install won't run on openSUSE

[sv_blackbird]

I'm running openSUSE Leap 15.2 with current patches. I've used the normal openSUSE tools to install the available OpenCPN version from the openSUSE "Application" repo, which is 5.0.0.


To take a look at the new version, I installed the 5.2.4 flatpak. However, when I run the application, it fails with:

 21-Feb-21 10:12 >> flatpak run org.opencpn.OpenCPN
ALSA lib ../../src/conf.c:3956:(snd_config_update_r) Cannot access file /etc/alsa-pulse.conf
ALSA lib ../../../src/control/control.c:1375:(snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL hw:0
ALSA lib ../../src/conf.c:3956:(snd_config_update_r) Cannot access file /etc/alsa-pulse.conf
ALSA lib ../../../src/control/control.c:1375:(snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL hw:1
opencpn: src/hostapi/alsa/pa_linux_alsa.c:1453: BuildDeviceList: Assertion `devIdx < numDeviceNames' failed.

The failing file (/etc/alsa-pulse.conf) actually DOES exist on my system and is readable by all. The failure mode is the same whether I install OpenCPN for just me with "flatpak install --user ..." or for all with "sudo flatpak install ..."


Obviously I can continue to run the 5.0 version, but it would be great to have access to the newer builds. Any suggestions?

[nohal]

Are you sure it actually does fail here at all and not somewhere later? I remember seeing stuff like this being emited to stderr by the system sound libraries during OpenCPN start on Linux and being completely harmless "since the beginning of the time".

[sv_blackbird]

I never get this error when I run 5.0.0 from my "normal" install, only with flatpak.

A bit of investigation does turn up an obvious problem; I mentioned that /etc/alsa.conf existed . . . but that was in MY filesystem. This file does NOT exist in the org.freedesktop.Platform filesystem under flatpak. So the error isn't "wrong", but I suspect there's an error either in MY flatpak config or in the OpenCPN flatpak build for 5.2.4

However . . . I WAS able to get the application to start by manually copying alsa-pulse,conf from the root file system:

sudo cp /etc/alsa-pulse.conf /var/lib/flatpak/runtime/org.freedesktop.Platform/x86_64/18.08/1f7a5575c84c1df838ff07540cbc155e1eb78fee764860cbcbfab6d766328588/files/etc

and then launching with "flatpak run ....." OpenCPN runs, but complains about many issues with the ALSA libs. As I said, I don't have this issue when running 5.0.0 from a "normal" install

[nohal]

https://github.com/flatpak/flatpak/issues/1875 - Seems like an issue caused by OpenSUSE they expect the app flatpacks to work around (if my next to none flatpak knowledge serves).

[sv_blackbird]

Ahh, thanks - that did the trick! Application now starts/runs and I can do some experimenting.



Note that the flatpak still throws MANY errors, which 5.0.0 does not.

• I still get ALSA errors during startup
• I get gtk errors on any pop-up dialog box
• I get dBus errors while running the application

I suspect that all of these are flatpak problems, not OpenCPN problems