Bug#699832: vlc "lib" directory is inferred from /proc/*/maps, with no (documented?) way to override

[Rémi Denis-Courmont]

tags 699832 + help
thanks

	Hello,

You can override/extend the paths that VLC searches for plugins using the 
VLC_PLUGIN_PATH environment variable. Note that adding plugins while running 
is not supported (they will be ignored).

If that's not enough, I don't really see any alternative to patching VLC in 
Debian. Union FS is a hack and TBH, I have no plan to support this in upstream 
VLC especially not unless it gets accepted in the upstream Linux kernel.

Regards,

Le mardi 5 février 2013 19:44:17, Ivan Shmakov a écrit :
> Package: vlc-nox
> Version: 2.0.3-4
> 
> 	In order to allow for “relocation”, vlc(1) (cvlc(1)) reads the
> 	/proc/${PID}/maps file to infer the ‘lib’ directory location.
> 
> 	This fails, however, for Debian Live systems, as there ‘maps’
> 	will point to somewhere on the bottom layer of the Aufs stack
> 	(as used for the root FS), typically mounted to
> 	/lib/live/mount/medium, and not to /usr/lib/vlc.
> 
> 	Therefore, should any additional VLC plugins be installed during
> 	such a system's uptime, they won't be available to VLC.  Worse
> 	still, an attempt to perform an upgrade of the VLC packages may
> 	leave VLC in an inconsistent state, with an upgraded binary
> 	trying to access the plugins belonging to the version the Debian
> 	Live image in question was initially made.  (My guess is that
> 	the use of the “persistence” Debian Live feature may complicate
> 	the things even further.)
> 
> 	Obviously, there should be a way for the user to override the
> 	‘lib’ directory location inferred from the ‘maps’ file contents.
> 	(Ideally, such a feature is to be activated automagically when
> 	VLC is used on a Debian Live system.)

-- 
Rémi Denis-Courmont
http://www.remlab.net/