[NTLUG:Discuss] DCOP server & KDE 3.

[Steve Baker]

MadHat wrote:

> We have discussed what DCOP is before, check the archive for links with
> more info.  Basically it is a process that manages interprocess
> communication for the KDE apps.  Sounds like the one that came with your
> distro might be buggy, I recommend checking for updates.

My head is now spinning from reading HUNDREDS of emails in various
archives from people with DCOP problems...it seems like this is by
far the biggest KDE problem out there.

There are over a dozen separate bits of advice that seem to have worked
for different people - most seem highly dubious.  To summarise 5 extremely
frustrating hours of Googling and reading...

   1) Delete every file beginning with '.' in your home directory
      that seems even remotely to do with KDE.

   2) Ditto for just about every file or directory in /tmp

   3) Open permissions wide on every directory that seems remotely
      related to 'ICE', 'MCOP', 'DCOP' or KDE.

   4) Change the name of your computer in /etc/hosts and /etc/hostname
      so that it doesn't have any domain components (eg: "batcave" and
      not "batcave.sjbaker.org").

   5) Reboot.

   6) Reinstall KDE3 from scratch.

   7) Downgrade (or alternatively upgrade) KDE or perhaps Qt.

   8) Edit /usr/X11R6/bin/kde3 to include 'export KDEDIR=/opt/kde3'
      (or other various hacks to that file).

   9) Hand-start dcopserver

  10) Run 'startx' as 'root'.

  11) Run 'iceauth'.

  12) Don't use SuSE 8.0 because the KDE install doesn't work out of the box.

  13) Make sure your search path includes /opt/kde3/bin and /usr/X11R6/bin
      and EXCLUDES /opt/kde2/bin.

...actually, what worked for me was changing my '/etc/passwd' so that my
user account starts up in bash instead of tcsh (which is my preference),
and then nuking a *bunch* of files in my home directory and in /tmp.

Using tcsh is the one thing I'd changed from the default installation...but
I still don't see how it was the source of the problem.

Nobody mentioned that *ANYWHERE*.  I eventually realised when I found I
could start KDE as root - AND using my son's user account (both of which
are started into bash instead of tcsh.

The most horrible thing about this process is that the programs that
are failing don't tell you *WHY* they failed.

For example, if you run 'dcopserver' manually - is says "Self-test Failed".
Which is no use at all.  If it would only say "Self test failed BECAUSE x, y, or
z didn't happen" - then I'd have a chance at finding the problem.

Aaarrggghhhhh!!!

---------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------
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