Create a catalog in a shared folder

[jvik]

I'm running Windows 11 as the host system. I run Oracle Virtualbox with various Linux distros installed as Virtual Machines. In general this works great - with shared folders I can access any drive on the host system that I choose to share as a "shared folder".

So from Linux Mint, Debian, Fedora ... I can create, read, write, modify ... files in the Windows environment. E.g. with LibreOffice I create a document in Win 11 stored on a disk drive that is shared as a folder with one of the Linux VMs. From this virtual machine I can read, write etc. those files with LibreOffice running under Linux or any other Linux software that can understand that format.

Now, specifically in Win 11 Calibre I can save some books to a directory on a shared folder. Then in a Linux Calibre I can use Add Books to read them and add them to my Linux Calibre library (and vice versa of course.)

What I can't do is open or create a calibre catalog on the shared folder.

This is the traceback I get trying to open a library:

calibre, version 8.4.0
Corrupted database: The library database at /e/calibre-libs/test appears to be corrupted. Do you want calibre to try and rebuild it automatically? The rebuild may not be completely successful.

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "calibre/gui2/ui.py", line 974, in library_moved
File "calibre/db/legacy.py", line 192, in __init__
File "calibre/db/legacy.py", line 46, in create_backend
File "calibre/db/backend.py", line 551, in __init__
File "calibre/db/backend.py", line 990, in initialize_notes
File "calibre/db/notes/connect.py", line 79, in __init__
File "calibre/db/notes/connect.py", line 100, in reopen
File "calibre/db/notes/schema_upgrade.py", line 29, in __init__
File "calibre/db/backend.py", line 433, in execute
File "src/cursor.c", line 240, in resetcursor
apsw.IOError: IOError: disk I/O error

Should Calibre be able to do this?

Any info would be great. Thanks,
jvik

[theducks]

It is in the FAQ. No share or networked drives.

Not only did you try a share, but you spanned OS file systems, which keep file names differently.
Calibre stores the book in the filesystem (for performance. must stay in lockstep) and keeps the where in the DB. Jumping between OS weirds it out.

The Export and Import tool takes care of the needed stuf when you move to another computer.

[jvik]

Well, I didn't see anything in the faq related to this.

Perhaps it's because you misunderstand the question. I'm not using a network drive nor a net share. Virtualbox provides the linux virtual machine with a translation of file system calls when accessing a shared folder (again, not a net share). As far as the linux software knows, it is accessing a linux filesystem on a mounted linux drive.

[DNSB]

I played with this once using VMWare Workstation. I just tried creating a catalog of the ebooks on my Windows machines and store it in the shared folder and no issues accessing it from any VM (Windows, MacOS or Linux). However, in my earlier testing, when I placed a live library in the shared folder. I could access it from Windows if I created it under Windows. I could access it from Linux (SUSE Tumbleweed) if I created it from there, ditto for MacOS. OTOH, accessing a library from an OS that was not used to create it was very iffy likely due to the differences between how files are handled in different OS.

From your original message, you state that you are attempting to create a catalog (right click on a book, hover on convert books, click on Create a catalog of books in your calibre library) while the rest of your message and the error message seems to show that you are attempting to open a calibre library. Was this library in shared storage and created by Windows and you are accessing it from Linux or vice versa? Did you make sure that you only had one calibre instance running? That is you did not have calibre in Windows and Linux attempting to access the library simultaneously?

[PeterT]

I can't help but think this might be similar to my issues accessing the Kobo file system on chromeos where although the file system is happily shared with the Linux environment, the method of sharing does not support all the APIs required to access the Kobo's SQLite database.

[jvik]

DNSB: Yeah - all of the above:-). That is, I've tried every configuration I could think of.
If I crate a library in Windows in a shared folder, shut Win Calibre down, try to access it from a vm, I get the corrupted catalog error.

If I use Calibre in the vm, use the Calibre Library button in the toolbar, choose create a library, select an empty directory on a shared folder, I immediatly get the corrupted libraryu message - even though there is not library there - I'm trying to create it. You said you could access it from Linux if you crated it from there. That's more than I get.

In case someone wonders about the distro - I get the same results using Debian based, Ubuntu based, and Fedora based distros.

In Virtualbox, access to the shared folder is virtualized - system level calls are handled by Virtualbox. I suppose it could be a Virtualbox problem, but I can do anything else I can thing of on the shared folder from the vm, crate/delete files, copy files from to the the vm, etc.

But thanks for your feedback.

[jvik]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

It ain't what you know that gets you in trouble, it's what you know that ain't so! (Heinlein, I think)

So just putzing around. Opened Windows Calibre and thought I'd create a catalog in the folder where I tried to with Linux Calibre. Oops - error - there's already a catalog there. Switched to that catalog and it opened fine, empty of course. Added some books, worked fine. Closed Win Calibre, went to Linux, switched to that catalog location and it opened fine - all books present. Loaded some more books, all OK.

So - Linux Calibre will create the catalog, then immediately errors off. Definitly a bug in Calibre.

[jvik]

So - tried the same thing - new folder in Windows, used a Linux Calibre to create a catalog - got the failure msg. Closed Linux calibre, Opened the catalog with Win Calibre, added some books, closed Win Calibre. Back to Linux Calibre - got the same error when I tried to open the catalog.

All of these calibres are version 8.4.
The Linux calibres were created with the one line download from the calibre download page.
Linux Mint 22.1 Mate is the one that worked after adding books from Windows Calibre.
Linux Cinnamon 22.1 didn't work.
Linux MX 23.5 didn't work.
It's late. going to turn in. 10 more distros to beat against tomorrow.

[DNSB]

I think we are having a bit confusion over the meaning of words. The word for the directory where calibre stores books/metadata files and database files is a library whereas a catalog (or catalogue) is a file that contains a list of books in a library. Perhaps confusion or English is not a first language...

[jvik]

It is calibre trying to open the catalog that causes the error. I don't see what you're going on about.

[PeterT]

Again.. the term you mean to use is Database and NOT catalogue. In calibre they are different things.

Have you tried capturing a log of what O/S API calls are being made by calibre on Linux and examining it (or sharing it for others to examine)?

[jvik]

Fine. Replace every occurrence of 'catalog/catalogue' with database. Are you happy now?

[theducks]

Originally Posted by jvik

Fine. Replace every occurrence of 'catalog/catalogue' with database. Are you happy now?

Wrong words waste our (the folk here who try and help users) time.
Linux is a case sensitive filesystem.

so it must have the name metadata.db, in addition, the user rights need to be RWX

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by jvik

It is calibre trying to open the catalog that causes the error. I don't see what you're going on about.

The correct term is library. For calibre users, a catalog/catalogue is a calibre generated list of ebooks in a library.

Do you go to the Burton Carr Central Catalog to borrow catalog books or do you go to the Burton Carr Central Library to borrow library books?