pulseaudio == disaster ??

David A. De Graaf dad at datix.us
Wed Nov 14 02:11:29 UTC 2007


On Wed, Nov 14, 2007 at 07:06:16AM +0900, John Summerfield wrote:
> David A. De Graaf wrote:
> 
> >    #!/usr/bin/pulseaudio -nF
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> The interpreter for this script
> >
> 
> >    # Create autoload entries for the device drivers
> >    add-autoload-sink output module-alsa-sink device=plughw:0,0 rate=48000 
> >    sink_name=output
> >    add-autoload-sink output2 module-oss device=/dev/dsp1 record=0 
> >    sink_name=output2
> >    add-autoload-sink combined module-combine master=output slaves=output2 
> >    sink_name=combined
> >
> >	< remaining commands snipped >
> >
> >Clearly, this instruction is not to be taken literally;  the script
> >contains commands that do not exist in Linux.
> 
> Presumably pulseaudio knows how to do those commands.
> 
> 
> The purpose of the first line of a shell script is to indentify the 
> interpreter used to run it. I've seen sh, csh, pdksh, perl, python, wish 
> and make used this way, and there's bound to be lots more.
> 
> The interpreter implements the language.

Oh, yes.  The first line most certainly does cause the pulseaudio
command to run and interpret the remainder of the file.

My complaint, poorly worded, is that IT DOESN'T WORK.
Here's the full output of running that script:

[dad at datbird ~]$ ./pulsestart
ALSA lib pcm_hw.c:1207:(_snd_pcm_hw_open) Invalid value for card
E: module-alsa-sink.c: Error opening PCM device plughw:0,0: No such device
E: module.c: Failed to load  module "module-alsa-sink" (argument: "device=plughw:0,0 rate=48000 sink_name=output"): initialization failed.
E: module-combine.c: Invalid master sink 'output'
E: module.c: Failed to load  module "module-combine" (argument: "master=output slaves=output2 sink_name=combined"): initialization failed.
E: main.c: No sink by that name.
ALSA lib pcm_hw.c:1207:(_snd_pcm_hw_open) Invalid value for card
E: module-alsa-sink.c: Error opening PCM device plughw:0,0: No such device
E: module.c: Failed to load  module "module-alsa-sink" (argument: "device=plughw:0,0 rate=48000 sink_name=output"): initialization failed.
E: module-combine.c: Invalid master sink 'output'
E: module.c: Failed to load  module "module-combine" (argument: "master=output slaves=output2 sink_name=combined"): initialization failed.
E: main.c: daemon/main.c : Fatal error. Default sink name (combined) does not exist in name register.


So this script, advertised as the way to achieve a "sensible
Pulseaudio configuration", fails to do so.

The initial error suggests that my system is lacking a "PCM device
plughw:0,0".  That may be true, but I have no clue why, or how to
remedy that omission.  What, exactly, is a "PCM device plughw:0,0"?

How I long for the good old days when Brian Kernighan could accurately
say "Everything in the UNIX system is a file".

I've spent several days trying without success to start the pulseaudio
daemon.  No amount of googling has given me a clue how to defeat these
error messages.

So, without submitting to the gnome monster, I have no sound.
This is certainly a showstopper for me and is blocking any further
Fedora 8 installations.

Suggestions how to start the pulseaudio daemon outside of gnome are
most welcome, especially those tested and verified to work.

-- 
	David A. De Graaf    DATIX, Inc.    Hendersonville, NC
	dad at datix.us         www.datix.us




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