COPS : Calibre OPDS PHP Server

[teejcee]

I think this little project is done and we deserve a
Or am I missing something and is there more room for improvement?

I think you're right...but then....I wonder how the GPS coordinates
would pan out if I had a download from the space station?


Cheers for now...we've had a bit of fun

TC

[ap201]

Did anybody try to install COPS on DLink DNS-320L box, or similar?

[mariosipad]

If it is possible to install a web server like Apache or nginx and PHP on a D-Link DNS-320L is might be possible to install COPS on it. But that's a big if.

[teejcee]

@ap201

it seems there's been a bit of interest in hacking this unit.

Google "dns-320l modifications" if you haven't already

[ap201]

Originally Posted by teejcee

@ap201

it seems there's been a bit of interest in hacking this unit.

Google "dns-320l modifications" if you haven't already

DNS-320L as well as some other Dlink NAS offer system of add-ons, see http://dlink.vtverdohleb.org.ua/Add-On/ They even have OPDS add-on based on Simple OPDS (SOPDS), but I am not happy with it, I would prefer OPDS working with Calibre libraries. My logic is if one OPDS is already developed by third party, there are all required software components to build any other version.

[BJH]

Hello all,

I have an existing installation of COPS which is working. I used a command line utility called 'drive' to create a Google Drive synchronised folder in my COPS directory and then I point the config file at it. It works just fine.
The trouble is I have to pull the files from cloud storage to my server for it to work. Good for synchronisation, but if I'm going to have the files take up space on my server anyway then may as well host them there in the first place.

I installed ownCloud, and have got it working. But I can't get COPS to accept the new library location.

COPS is installed at /var/www/vhosts/mysite
Calibre library is located at /var/www/ownCloud/data/user/files/Documents/Ebooks

When I point the COPS config file at the new location, it complains that it can't find the metadata.db file. The file definitely exists, of course, so there must be some other reason why COPS can't read it.

I also tried creating a symbolic link to the location inside the COPS installation folder but I experience the same trouble.

Has anyone here got experience with getting COPS to see a metadata.db file located in an ownCloud installation on the same server?

[mariosipad]

@BJH

I found this article on the www:

http://www.tolaris.com/2014/04/25/a-...y-version-2-0/

Have fun!

[BJH]

Thanks for the link mariosipad. Unfortunately it hasn't helped me out with my problem. The author says he used a symbolic link to "work around ownCloud’s htaccess restrictions to make the eBook files readable". But I have already tried that and it doesn't work for me.

I will have to look into it further. Owncloud is a massive application, and it's one of those situations where it either "just works" or you end up spending hours or days trawling through manuals.
Looks like I got handed the latter!

Which is typical

Thanks anyway and in the meantime if someone has more advice it will be welcome.

[mariosipad]

@BJH

The only "solution" I can come up with is access rights.

Try to change the access rights to the calibre library to 777, then check if it works, then try 755 and so on.

COPS typically says it cannot find the database files if it cannot read or execute these files.

[BJH]

Originally Posted by mariosipad

@BJH

The only "solution" I can come up with is access rights.

Try to change the access rights to the calibre library to 777, then check if it works, then try 755 and so on.

COPS typically says it cannot find the database files if it cannot read or execute these files.

Thanks once again for the response mariospiad.

I can definitely see why you would offer permissions as a potential cause. It was one of the first things I checked, but I ruled it out because the current permissions for the Ebooks folder (which contains the metadata file) is:

drwxr-xr-x

I believe these are the correct permissions, because read is allowed for 'other' groups. It seems like it should be possible for COPS to read the file. But I don't claim to be an expert here, so if you or anyone else has some advice to offer on this it will be welcome.

The metadata.db file has similar permissions, except that it isn't "executable". I can't believe that it would need to be because it's just a data file. The permissions for metadata.db are:

-rw-r--r--

The only difference in terms of the file attributes between the library that is currently working (exists in the same directory as COPS) and the library that is not working (exists in the ownCloud directory) is the owner of the file. For the working library, it is as follows:

 -rw-r--r--  1 root root 1490944 Jan  2 16:36 metadata.db

For the non-working (ownCloud) library, it is as follows:

 -rw-r--r--  1 www-data www-data 1490944 Mar 17 06:49 metadata.db

I have assumed this isn't a problem, because all users have permissions to read the file?

[mariosipad]

@BJH

The only way I could make COPS work like it should with a remote directory (not in the COPS root) is to use access permissions like:

drwxr-xr-x   5 debian   debian     4096 Mar  4  2014 COPStest
and
-rwxr-xr-x 1 debian debian 140288 Apr 30  2013 metadata.db
and 
drwxr-xr-x 3 debian debian   4096 Apr 30  2013 eBook directory 1
drwxr-xr-x 3 debian debian   4096 Apr 30  2013 eBook directory 2

Without the +x attribute on eBook directories I could not see any covers and could not "download" the epub/mobi/etc files.

Just try it. You can always go back.

[BJH]

OK to rule it out from the conversation I tried it. Unfortunately it doesn't work. I even tried chmod 777 on the ownCloud Ebooks directory and metadata.db just to be sure. Same problem.

It's a bit bizarre. The file definitely exists at the location, it has the correct permissions, but COPS complains that the file isn't there.

I think there must be some problem with the error reporting or something. Maybe there's really something else going on, and this error about the file not existing is just leading me up the garden path!

For now I have just copied the ownCloud Ebooks directory to the COPS directory. Problem solved at the cost of wasting space.

[teejcee]

@BJH

Just a thought, as it looks like you've thought of everything else.

One thing that is easy to overlook or make a typo, even if it was originally working, is to make sure the pathname to your library in config_local.php
ends with "/".

Cheers,
TC

[BJH]

Thanks for the response teejcee,

I am very careful to make sure that I include the ending "/", so unfortunately this isn't the cause of my problem.

In fact, I tried taking the library location configuration completely out of the equation by using a symbolic link to the library called "BJH" inside the COPS directory. Then I can set the library location to "BJH/" and simply change the symbolic link between my existing library and the ownCloud library.

When I set the symbolic link to point to my existing library folder, all is well. When I set it to point to the ownCloud location on my server, it throws the error. This happens without making any chances at all to config_local.php.

I haven't had any time to look at it further since, but when I get a spare couple of hours I'll see if I can get to the bottom of it.

Thanks again for the response - I would have been more than happy for someone to point out something simple that I'd missed!

Cheers.

[teejcee]

@BJH

Again, perhaps a grasp at straws but here is how I have my server setup...

Both cops & owncloud are directly under /var/www

Owncloud data is not in the owncloud dir... I have a vague recollection of reading an advisory to locate your data elsewhere

Mine is...
/data/owncloud/username/files/ under files , I have my 8 individual
Calibre dirs which I sync using owncloud with 8 Calibre libaries on my laptop.
With in each of these is the metadata.db

This all work fine......for what it's worth

Cheers,
TC