Fresh TW install. Cannot install SCID - Python error

Hello,

I was forced to freshly install Tumbleweed on my laptop and much has changed and much has broken, but I’ll take one thing at a time. I need to install SCID chess database software urgently but I cannot:

Error:

Zod:~ # zypper in scid
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...
Resolving package dependencies...

Problem: 1: nothing provides 'python' needed by the to be installed scid-4.7.0-1699.4.pm.72.x86_64
 Solution 1: do not install scid-4.7.0-1699.4.pm.72.x86_64
 Solution 2: break scid-4.7.0-1699.4.pm.72.x86_64 by ignoring some of its dependencies

Choose from above solutions by number or cancel [1/2/c/d/?] (c): 

Apparently Python 2.X isn’t included anymore (to which it had a Python symlink) so I created my own to Python 3.X:

Zod:~ # ls /usr/bin/python* -l
lrwxrwxrwx 2 root root    10 Feb  3 16:02 /usr/bin/python -> python3.11
lrwxrwxrwx 2 root root    10 Feb  3 16:02 /usr/bin/python3 -> python3.11
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 14448 Feb  3 16:02 /usr/bin/python3.11
Zod:~ # python --version
Python 3.11.11

No champagne for me.

Here are my repos (just in case):

Zod:~ # zypper lr
Repository priorities in effect:                                                                      (See 'zypper lr -P' for details)
      90 (raised priority)  :  1 repository
      99 (default priority) :  5 repositories

# | Alias                            | Name                                   | Enabled | GPG Check | Refresh
--+----------------------------------+----------------------------------------+---------+-----------+--------
1 | code                             | Visual Studio Code                     | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes
2 | download.opensuse.org-non-oss    | Main Repository (NON-OSS)              | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes
3 | download.opensuse.org-oss        | Main Repository (OSS)                  | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes
4 | download.opensuse.org-tumbleweed | Main Update Repository                 | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes
5 | packman                          | packman                                | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes
6 | repo-debug                       | openSUSE-Tumbleweed-Debug              | No      | ----      | ----
7 | repo-openh264                    | Open H.264 Codec (openSUSE Tumbleweed) | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes
8 | repo-source                      | openSUSE-Tumbleweed-Source             | No      | ----      | ----

My other Tumbleweed installs handle SCID fine (both machines have Python2.X installed but SCID doesn’t require it).

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

This package is from packman. The dependencies seems no longer available in Tumbleweed. You may contact packman on their mailing list for a rebuild of the package.

Correct.

python2 is gone - openSUSE Factory - openSUSE Mailing Lists

Shame. I have a tournament in a few days that I need to prepare for. Ubuntu it is. Quite disconcerting that on a fresh install, which inevitably will be necessary, that things will not work as they did before.

Oh well, first world problem.

Thanks.

@tedkunterblast It just needs updating to 5.1.0…

Thanks, Malcolm. Well that sounds simple enough - how do I proceed?

@tedkunterblast well normally one would branch from the development project and update that https://build.opensuse.org/package/show/games/scid submit and ask to be forwarded to Factory.

Or add a comment to the package asking the Maintainer to update, or submit a bug report… openSUSE:Submitting bug reports - openSUSE Wiki

All to install a chess database. Well I never. I suppose I could use Flatpak but I have no experience with that.

I think there should be a caveat with Tumbleweed: once installed, update and leave it alone forever, and when you need a new hard drive, go see a shrink and prepare yourself.

@tedkunterblast Tumbleweed is the openSUSE Development platform and rolls along… Perhaps Leap 15.6 is more suitable (think there is python 2 support)?

Considering the package hasn’t been updated in 5 years, it moved to the 5.x.x version in 2023, but wasn’t updated even then?

Thanks, Malcolm. I tried Leap some years ago but It was not as good as either Linux Mint or Fedora in my experience. Tumbleweed with XFCE has been mostly good and it’s grown on me, warts and all.
Maybe Aeon or NixOS would be more suitable? No idea. Maybe I should just go back to Ubuntu permanently, or Mint. The basics have to work or else what are we doing here? I know we are the guinea pigs, but Richard Brown might be right.

@tedkunterblast well Aeon won’t work as it tracks Tumbleweed. But you could always use distrobox and use a container?

Ah, good idea.

If you are using Tumbleweed, you are strongly advised to follow factory mailing list. It has been discussed just recently (if what happened can be called “discussion” of course …).

I have no tournament. But I have scid installed:

erlangen:~ # zypper if scid
Loading repository data...
Reading installed packages...


Information for package scid:
-----------------------------
Repository     : home:dsterba:chess
Name           : scid
Version        : 4.7.0-3.28
Arch           : x86_64
Vendor         : obs://build.opensuse.org/home:dsterba
Installed Size : 19.0 MiB
Installed      : Yes
Status         : up-to-date
Source package : scid-4.7.0-3.28.src
Upstream URL   : http://scid.sourceforge.net/
Summary        : A chess database application
Description    : 
    Scid can perform many different searches, such as for particular
    players, a certain opening position, material searches, and pattern
    searches such as isolated pawns. It is very fast, because it uses its
    own efficient format, but it can convert games to and from PGN, the
    standard format for chess game files.

    Scid can use a chess engine such as Crafty to analyze games and also
    has a "tree" mode where it automatically shows all moves played from
    the current position, their opening codes, success rates, etc.

erlangen:~ # 

The package actually also don’t build any longer there in the home project, as it dpends on deprecated xorg-x11-devel.

I do too; just not on the system that I did a fresh install on. Something changed. My VPN also cannot be installed and XFCE keeps freezing among other things. What a pain, eh?

Does anyone use Tumbleweed and for the most part use Flatpaks? I’ve been thinking about the philosophy behind it, and it might resolve many issues.

The version which installs on current Tumbleweed is maintained by David Sterba:

Alias          : home_dsterba_chess
Name           : home:dsterba:chess
URI            : https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/dsterba:/chess/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/
Enabled        : Yes
GPG Check      : (r ) Yes
Priority       : 80 (raised priority)
Autorefresh    : On
Keep Packages  : Off
Type           : rpm-md
GPG Key URI    : https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/dsterba:/chess/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/repodata/repomd.xml.key
Path Prefix    : 
Parent Service : 
Keywords       : ---
Repo Info Path : /etc/zypp/repos.d/home_dsterba_chess.repo
MD Cache Path  : /var/cache/zypp/raw/home_dsterba_chess
erlangen:~ # 

Add the above repo and install.

Same issue.

Hi All

But your all still using a 5 year old program…

[February 2019]
scid-4.7.0

Latest

[December 2024]
scid-5.1.0