Script to Generate Stanza Online Catalog for your Iphone/Touch

[RoninTech]

If you could also throw in the Series info, if its not blank, into the content section, that would be great as well Kovid.

Cheers,
Crazy

[tHeFiRsTiDioT]

Amazing stuff! Thanks a lot Kovid/Crazy Ivan. I hated using stanza desktop when i have had calibre

Couple of things
- It may not be obvious to some (and thats me for one), that we need to have books in epub format before we can see them in the feed
- the --hostname <name> option to calibre-server does not seem to work on my machine (If I use the ip address from stanza I can see the list of books). This may be specific to my network, and please dont bother if no one else has had this problem. I use the ip address everywhere from now on.
- I can see my books, and there is a download button, but when I try to download it to my iphone, it says 'Error' - cant find host.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by tHeFiRsTiDioT

- the --hostname <name> option to calibre-server does not seem to work on my machine (If I use the ip address from stanza I can see the list of books). This may be specific to my network, and please dont bother if no one else has had this problem. I use the ip address everywhere from now on.
- I can see my books, and there is a download button, but when I try to download it to my iphone, it says 'Error' - cant find host.

The host name option is not going to change your PCs name on the network. I think it is for page generation. Although, I'm not sure why it can't get the host name from the environment.

If you right click on "My Computer" and select properties in the system properties dialog select "Computer Name" it will give you the computer name. This is the name your PC should be available as on the network.

Or, you can open a command window and run "ipconfig /all" and the first line in the response will be your hostname.

The error is possibly because you are specifying a host name which is not the host name of your PC.

BOb

[RoninTech]

Using hostnames will only work if you are setup to use them. When you use a hostname, your PC will first look it up in its hosts file (/etc/host in Linux/BSD, \WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc\hosts in windows) to map it to an IP address. You can manually edit these files to provide your own local network's hostname to IP mapping. If it doesn't find it there it'll ask its local DNS server. On windows, "ipconfig /all" will show you your DHCP assigned DNS server). Many routers/firewalls will run a local DNS server and let you assign hostnames so you can use hostnames on your local network such as laser-printer or htpc etc. For that to work you'd need to be setup to have DHCP provide fixed IP's to specific MAC addresses so you can map a hostname to an IP and have it always get to the same device. If none of this is setup the DNS query will just get forwarded to your providers DNS server and then only internet domain names will be resolved to an IP.

Hope that helps. If not there's some great how-to's out there just a quick Google away.

[pilotbob]

What exactly does the "hostname" parameter do? The computer name on a Windows machine will automatically resolve to the IP address via the Wins service. You don't have to add machines on a windows network to the hosts file.

If they are not talking about a Windows PC here, never mind.

BOb

[RoninTech]

Originally Posted by tHeFiRsTiDioT

- I can see my books, and there is a download button, but when I try to download it to my iphone, it says 'Error' - cant find host.

With your browser, browse to your stanza feed and then do a show source and paste one of your book entries here.

[RoninTech]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

What exactly does the "hostname" parameter do? The computer name on a Windows machine will automatically resolve to the IP address via the Wins service. You don't have to add machines on a windows network to the hosts file.

If they are not talking about a Windows PC here, never mind.

BOb

I don't think many people run wins server's on their home networks Bob even if they only use windows PC's.

[kovidgoyal]

Can somebody check if using relative URLs in the stanza feed works? Then there wont be a need for the hostname option.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by CrazyIvan

I don't think many people run wins server's on their home networks Bob even if they only use windows PC's.

Ok... sorry not Wins. But Windows by default runs the Computer Browser server, perhaps over NetBIOS. Any time a new PC boots it asks if anyone on the network is the master browser and it so resolves names via that. If you try to ping a pc using the computer name on a windows network you will get a response and the IP address.

BOb

[RoninTech]

Since this is your iPhone or iPod Touch using this, we'll need to have the calibre feed use something a non-windows device can recognize. I'll try the relative URL's as soon as my wife brings her Touch home. If that doesn't work you'd need to have calibre use the IP address or a hostname that is recognizable to non-windows devices.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by CrazyIvan

Since this is your iPhone or iPod Touch using this, we'll need to have the calibre feed use something a non-windows device can recognize. I'll try the relative URL's as soon as my wife brings her Touch home. If that doesn't work you'd need to have calibre use the IP address or a hostname that is recognizable to non-windows devices.

My Mac connects to my Windows PC using the computer name perfectly fine. So, I think that the iPod Touch/iPhone networking would be able to also. But, I don't know off hand. I will give it a try when I have a chance.

BOb

[RoninTech]

What do you use to serve your DHCP? Oftentimes people use their DHCP serving routers to handle this. Each devices DHCP lease will show what its DNS server is. If your router is set as the DNS server as well as the DHCP server its probably handling the hostname conversion for you.

Kovid, I tried relative URLs and stanza couldn't locate the images or epub.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by CrazyIvan

What do you use to serve your DHCP? Oftentimes people use their DHCP serving routers to handle this.

Ok... I take it back.

When I run the server on my Mac... I am able to browse it on my windows machine using the Macs netbios name set up in the configuration file.

However, I am not able to do the reverse. The mac will not resolve to the correct ip address of my windows machines. (Although from everything I have read it is supposed to.) Even more strange because I am able to connect to the PC from the Mac in finder using the NetBios name... but when I use RDP I have to put in the IP.

Whats really weird is if I run ping on my Mac to try and ping my windows machine I get a 8.17 or a 63.251 ip address. This is very strange considering I am using an 192.168 network at home.

So, the next step is to see how the Touch can connect. My son was being paranoid and was afraid I was going to "break" his iPod if he didn't stand over me and watch what I was doing... and his mother wanted him in bed so I gave the thing back to him.

Since the touch runs OSx I excpect I will need to use the IP to connect to the Windows PC but the Netbios name to connect to the Mac.

BOb

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by CrazyIvan

Kovid, I tried relative URLs and stanza couldn't locate the images or epub.

What is this relative pathing you speak of?

BOb

[RoninTech]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

What is this relative pathing you speak of?

BOb

Here you go Bob:

http://www.webdevelopersnotes.com/de...lute_urls.php3