Is it possible to compile Calibre without QT, but still use it's command line tools?

rogerx · 08-26-2011, 07:44 AM

Is it possible to compile Calibre without QT, and still use it's command line tools such as ebook-convert?

Reason being, using Linux + DWM desktop, absolute minimalist here. QT requires bringing in an additional 20+ dependencies and takes a huge time to compile, too! Not too mention the ability, also, to pipe simple commands.

The ebuild for Gentoo doesn't have any relevant build flags from a glance...

rogerx · 08-26-2011, 08:18 AM

... and from what I see, there's no command to pull news feeds via command line. If a host is power-cycled, Calibre will miss pulling news using it's scheduler.

Using cron+anacron, news pulling just happens if it's passed it time.

Manichean · 08-26-2011, 08:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerx

... and from what I see, there's no command to pull news feeds via command line. If a host is power-cycled, Calibre will miss pulling news using it's scheduler.

Using

Code:

epub-convert recipe outputfile

works. I've known people to just create a cron job with that. Send the files using calibre-smtp or add to databse using calibredb.

As to your other question, I can't help, but I'm sure someone will be along shortly. What I can say is that Calibre uses Qt for more than 'just' the GUI, for example, I believe parts of the PDF conversion runs using some parts of Qt.

user_none · 08-26-2011, 11:11 AM

Qt is required and is also used by portions of the conversation process. PDF and rasterization of SVG images to name a few. You need Qt to compile and run calibre. However you do not need a full xorg install. Search here for info on using calibre with xvfb.

rogerx · 08-26-2011, 06:09 PM

... some really good info here.

Not a huge QT (KDE) fan, nor Python mainly due to their overhead. I like basic C and Bash Scripting. I'll look into incorporating the cron (for anacron) trick as anacron is a lot more reliable.

... granted would be really nice to build just calibre & it's CLI tools and not bring in qt (and qt deps)!

user_none · 08-26-2011, 07:25 PM

Is there any particular reason you need to build from source? Are you on a platform that calibre's binary install doesn't support? Typically it's easier to use the binary installer (even for development) than it is to build from source. calibre has a lot of dependencies.

rogerx · 08-27-2011, 02:58 AM

user_none: I maintained binary installs prior to year 2000, but became annoyed by upgrading one package introduced many unsatisfied deps. This particular scenario is common when running SVN/CVS, or just the latest and greatest version.

As such, I switched to Gentoo (a source based distro) and have been happy & peaceful ever since.

I've looked into xvfb (networking framebuffer), but not what I really need as it just networks stuff requiring me to use twice the computer resources I even need.

:Manichean - I don't have "epub-convert" here with my install of calibre-0.8.14. This command grabs a News RSS feed? Sounds more like an epub converter.

itimpi · 08-27-2011, 03:18 AM

The whole point of the Calibre binary package is that it does NOT have dependencies on lots of other packages. It includes any packages that calibre needs set up to be used from the Calibre install location. As such it does not interfere with other (possibly different) versions of those packages. That does make the download larger, but it means that Kovid can easily move Calibre onto a new version of a dependant package without having to worry if the final host system has also done so.

This approach has been taken as with Calibre having a weekly release cycle it can be a hard work for anyone who wants to compile from source to keep all dependent packages at the right version level. It also makes setting up a Calibre development environment relatively trivial as again everything (other than the source itself) that is required is already present.

DoctorOhh · 08-27-2011, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerx

:Manichean - I don't have "epub-convert" here with my install of calibre-0.8.14. This command grabs a News RSS feed? Sounds more like an epub converter.

He meant ebook-convert there is no such file as epub-convert.

The manual lists all of the command line commands and their functions.

Manichean · 08-27-2011, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dwanthny

He meant ebook-convert there is no such file as epub-convert.

The manual lists all of the command line commands and their functions.

What he said. I was replying to the part where you were wondering if you could grab a RSS feed via command line. And I do realize that you'll need to install the CLI tools for that

user_none · 08-27-2011, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rogerx

I've looked into xvfb (networking framebuffer), but not what I really need as it just networks stuff requiring me to use twice the computer resources I even need.

xvfb is a virtual X server. calibre command line tools such as ebook-convert (which when given a recipe will download the content from the internet and output it in the format of your choice) must run in X. If you don't have X and want to run the command line tools in a headless environment you can use xvfb which gives the program a virtual X environment so you don't have to run a full X session.

rogerx · 08-29-2011, 02:41 AM

itimpi: we already know all this.

dwanthny: woo! Now that's the man page info I was looking for! ... the system installed man page here for ebook-convert doesn't list all that info, just the very very basic definition of what ebook-convert does. Thanks I think, maybe I can get ebook-convert pulling a news recipe now via command line only.

user_none: The problem, Everybody uses the latest and greatest CPU with mega memory and forget about people using P3's, etc. A lot of code is just bloat and sitting doing nothing except eating cpu/memory power. Also, the more code you've got running, the more problems one might get. I get a lot more done via command line, except for reading stuff online through a browser. If I do use a GUI, it's only for a short time to get to know the tool, then I just write my recipe for automating the task via CLI.

If I get free time this Winter, I'll look into the calibre source to figure if I can configure --without-qt. Technically speaking, should be able to, but as you guys stated, PDF conversion stuff is using QT stuff instead of non-GUI tools. :-/

08-26-2011, 07:44 AM	#1
rogerx Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 244 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: North Pole, Alaska Device: Kindle DXG	Is it possible to compile Calibre without QT, but still use it's command line tools? Is it possible to compile Calibre without QT, and still use it's command line tools such as ebook-convert? Reason being, using Linux + DWM desktop, absolute minimalist here. QT requires bringing in an additional 20+ dependencies and takes a huge time to compile, too! Not too mention the ability, also, to pipe simple commands. The ebuild for Gentoo doesn't have any relevant build flags from a glance...

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08-26-2011, 08:18 AM	#2
rogerx Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 244 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: North Pole, Alaska Device: Kindle DXG	... and from what I see, there's no command to pull news feeds via command line. If a host is power-cycled, Calibre will miss pulling news using it's scheduler. Using cron+anacron, news pulling just happens if it's passed it time.

08-26-2011, 11:11 AM	#4
user_none Sigil & calibre developer Posts: 2,487 Karma: 1063785 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida, USA Device: Nook STR	Qt is required and is also used by portions of the conversation process. PDF and rasterization of SVG images to name a few. You need Qt to compile and run calibre. However you do not need a full xorg install. Search here for info on using calibre with xvfb.

08-26-2011, 06:09 PM	#5
rogerx Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 244 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: North Pole, Alaska Device: Kindle DXG	... some really good info here. Not a huge QT (KDE) fan, nor Python mainly due to their overhead. I like basic C and Bash Scripting. I'll look into incorporating the cron (for anacron) trick as anacron is a lot more reliable. ... granted would be really nice to build just calibre & it's CLI tools and not bring in qt (and qt deps)!

08-26-2011, 07:25 PM	#6
user_none Sigil & calibre developer Posts: 2,487 Karma: 1063785 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Florida, USA Device: Nook STR	Is there any particular reason you need to build from source? Are you on a platform that calibre's binary install doesn't support? Typically it's easier to use the binary installer (even for development) than it is to build from source. calibre has a lot of dependencies.

08-27-2011, 02:58 AM	#7
rogerx Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 244 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: North Pole, Alaska Device: Kindle DXG	user_none: I maintained binary installs prior to year 2000, but became annoyed by upgrading one package introduced many unsatisfied deps. This particular scenario is common when running SVN/CVS, or just the latest and greatest version. As such, I switched to Gentoo (a source based distro) and have been happy & peaceful ever since. I've looked into xvfb (networking framebuffer), but not what I really need as it just networks stuff requiring me to use twice the computer resources I even need. :Manichean - I don't have "epub-convert" here with my install of calibre-0.8.14. This command grabs a News RSS feed? Sounds more like an epub converter.

08-27-2011, 03:18 AM	#8
itimpi Wizard Posts: 4,553 Karma: 950151 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Sony PRS-950, iphone/ipad (Marvin/iBooks/QuickReader)	The whole point of the Calibre binary package is that it does NOT have dependencies on lots of other packages. It includes any packages that calibre needs set up to be used from the Calibre install location. As such it does not interfere with other (possibly different) versions of those packages. That does make the download larger, but it means that Kovid can easily move Calibre onto a new version of a dependant package without having to worry if the final host system has also done so. This approach has been taken as with Calibre having a weekly release cycle it can be a hard work for anyone who wants to compile from source to keep all dependent packages at the right version level. It also makes setting up a Calibre development environment relatively trivial as again everything (other than the source itself) that is required is already present.

08-29-2011, 02:41 AM	#12
rogerx Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 244 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: North Pole, Alaska Device: Kindle DXG	itimpi: we already know all this. dwanthny: woo! Now that's the man page info I was looking for! ... the system installed man page here for ebook-convert doesn't list all that info, just the very very basic definition of what ebook-convert does. Thanks I think, maybe I can get ebook-convert pulling a news recipe now via command line only. user_none: The problem, Everybody uses the latest and greatest CPU with mega memory and forget about people using P3's, etc. A lot of code is just bloat and sitting doing nothing except eating cpu/memory power. Also, the more code you've got running, the more problems one might get. I get a lot more done via command line, except for reading stuff online through a browser. If I do use a GUI, it's only for a short time to get to know the tool, then I just write my recipe for automating the task via CLI. If I get free time this Winter, I'll look into the calibre source to figure if I can configure --without-qt. Technically speaking, should be able to, but as you guys stated, PDF conversion stuff is using QT stuff instead of non-GUI tools. :-/

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