Bug#1095397: vdr-plugin-remote: FTBFS: error: invalid new-expression of abstract class type 'cLircRemote'

[Marko Mäkelä]

Fri, Feb 07, 2025 at 12:13:22PM +0000, Santiago Vila wrote:
>Package: src:vdr-plugin-remote
>Version: 0.7.0-6
>Severity: serious
>Tags: ftbfs trixie sid
>
>Dear maintainer:
>
>During a rebuild of all packages in unstable, your package failed to build:

I may be responsible for this, because I implemented a Linux /dev/lirc* 
driver in VDR 2.6.2 (revised in 2.6.4).  The earliest kernel with which 
it was confirmed to work is Linux 5.10.  See 
https://www.linuxtv.org/vdrwiki/index.php/LIRC where I had documented 
this.

That there exist two totally different “LIRC” can be confusing.  The 
user space code could have been at least 20 years earlier, but its name 
at least nowadays is misleading because it not limited to Linux.  The 
/dev/lirc* in the Linux kernel is also logical, because it is literally 
the Linux (as in the actual kernel) Infrared Remote Control driver.

What was 25 to 30 years ago done with DIY bit-banging and voltage 
conversion hacks on a commodity PC serial or parallel port would be done 
more easily with modern single-board computers, working out of the box 
with Linux’s native /dev/lirc* subsystem.  In 
https://www.linuxtv.org/vdrwiki/index.php/Raspberry_Pi I documented my 
setup: just specify a device tree overlay, and connect the 3 wires of a 
TSOP38238 receiver module to the GPIO header.

I used to use vdr-plugin-remote, which allowed to connect an infrared 
remote control unit via the “less native” /dev/input/event interface 
whose key-repeat logic would interfere with what an infrared remote 
control uint is naturally doing: sending bursts at a repeat rate that is 
expected by TV users.

More than 10 years ago, I had been in irregular contact with the author 
of vdr-plugin-remote, but did not get any replies in the recent years.  
I think that the correct solution is to remove or disable this part of 
this plugin as redundant.  I can’t say if there could be any practical 
use of the /dev/input/event interface that wouldn’t be better supported 
by the /dev/lirc*.

I had created https://www.linuxtv.org/vdrwiki/index.php/Systemd
to document some Systemd integration that I came up with.  Unfortunately 
my request to include this in upstream VDR in any form had been 
declined.  I feel that any “runvdr” shell script or whatever it might be 
called is unacceptable under Systemd.  Dear maintainers, I’d look 
forward to your feedback on this, and happy to test any Systemd unit 
files that you think would be appropriate for the Debian packaging of 
VDR.

Side note: The only VDR plugin that my setup depends on is 
https://github.com/reufer/rpihddevice/, which I guess can’t be packaged 
because it depends non-free software and hardware, namely the Videocore 
Ⅳ GPU.

With best regards,

	Marko Mäkelä