running how-can-i-help command gives 'file not found error'

[Mehran Rahbardar]

running how-can-i-help command gives the following error :
 /usr/bin/how-can-i-help:135:in `open': No such file or directory @ rb_sysopen - /home/mehionline/.cache/how-can-i-help/how-can-i-help.json.gz (Errno::ENOENT) from /usr/bin/how-can-i-help:135:in `<main>'

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 15.04
Package: how-can-i-help 10
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.19.0-25.26-generic 3.19.8-ckt2
Uname: Linux 3.19.0-25-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.17.2-0ubuntu1.2
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Thu Aug 13 14:30:25 2015
InstallationDate: Installed on 2015-04-30 (105 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 15.04 "Vivid Vervet" - Release amd64 (20150422)
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: how-can-i-help
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Tomasz Nitecki (tnnn)]

UDD (the backend for how-can-i-help) was switched entirely to https and access via http was disabled. Since how-can-i-help was using http, it is unable to download the new data file.

This was also reported in Debian [1] and I've fixed it in how-can-i-help/11 (so The Wily Werewolf already contains a fixed version). I'll be backporting this fix to both Debian stable and oldstable in the next few days, but I do not know if Ubuntu will migrate this new version to Vivid automatically (or do I need to ask someone to make it happen).

Anyway, you should be able to safely use how-can-i-help from The Wily Werewolf as there were no dependency of functional changes between version 10 and 11.

[1] https://bugs.debian.org/787471

[Hans Joachim Desserud (hjd)]

>I'll be backporting this fix to both Debian stable and oldstable in the next few days, but I do not know if Ubuntu will migrate this new version to Vivid automatically (or do I need to ask someone to make it happen).

No, this doesn't happen automatically. New versions of packages are added to the current development release, but doesn't affect older Ubuntu releases. Since this bug looks rather severe, it should be possible to get a fix for these releases too via Stable Release Updates [1]. (Basically preparing a debdiff for the targetted Ubuntu releases, and requesting review/sponorship for them, presumably similar to Debian backporting.)

I guess since the problem is the url that all older Ubuntu releases are affected by this issue and would require a fix?

[1] https://wiki.ubuntu.com/StableReleaseUpdates

[Tomasz Nitecki (tnnn)]

> I guess since the problem is the url that all older Ubuntu releases are affected by this issue and would require a fix?

That is correct. Unfortunately, every version older than 11 will be affected.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.