[FFe] Request for update: HPLIP 3.20.3

[nmaxx]

Version 3.20.3 of HPLIP was released in March supporting these new printers:

HP Neverstop Laser MFP 1200n
HP Neverstop Laser MFP 1201n
HP Neverstop Laser MFP 1200nw
HP Neverstop Laser MFP 1202nw
HP Laser NS MFP 1005n
HP Neverstop Laser 1000n
HP Neverstop Laser 1001nw
HP Laser NS 1020n
HP ScanJet Pro 2000 s2
HP ScanJet Pro 3000 s4
HP ScanJet Pro N4000 snw1
HP ScanJet Enterprise Flow 5000 s5
HP ScanJet Enterprise Flow N7000 snw1

Version 3.20.2 of HPLIP was released in February but had a severe bug (bug 1866291) making many users not able to print. The bug is fixed in version 3.20.3. 3.20.2 got withdrawn on HP's web site.

To extend the range of hardware devices supported in Focal we should get this HPLIP 3.20.3 into Focal.

There is no file containing information about what has been changed or added in version 3.20.3 compared to 3.19.12. There is also no public version control system where one could see the changes. The only information is that the devices listed above are newly supported in 3.20.3.

HPLIP 3.20.3 got already packaged for Debian Unstable and there is no Ubuntu-specific change left which is not contained in the Debian package. Therefore I request the sync of the Debian package (hplip_3.20.3+dfsg0-1) into Focal.

I have tested this Debian package of HPLIP 3.20.3 now and it seems that it is working so far. I can print and scan both via network and USB and also start GUI tools like hp-toolbox and hp-setup. hp-toolbox correctly lists jobs, settable options, and ink levels and with hp-setup I was able to create print queues for my printer.

My printer is the HP OfficeJet Pro 8730 which is already supported for a longer time and I do not see any difference, especially no regression compared to older versions of HPLIP.

Logs of the package build with pbuilder and of the package update on a Focal system are attached. See comments below.

[Hans Joachim Desserud (hjd)]

Thanks for reporting.

I see that Debian has packaged 3.20.2+dfsg0-1 (https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/hplip). I tried to take a look at the current Ubuntu delta, but it wasn't clear to me if this was already included in the Debian package or if a merge is needed.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Hans Joachim Desserud, the Ubuntu delta is small, only a patch to fix the build with Python 3.8.The patch file is debian/patches/python3.8.diff.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Should make less people installing the newest HPLIP from source and make mess: bug 1766020

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Waiting for Debian bug

https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=953104

to get solved.

[Maarten Fonville (maarten-fonville)]

That latest Debian bug #953104 should be solved by now, and also 3.20.3 with an upstream fix is now released by HP and available in the Debian repository (3.20.3+dfsg0-1)

I think it'd be great to have this latest version with more printer support and bugfixes in the Focal-release, so that indeed less people will have to install hlplip from source.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

I have tested the Debian (unstable) package of HPLIP 3.20.3 for an inclusion in Focal now and it seems that it is working so far. I can print and scan both via network and USB and also start GUI tools like hp-toolbox and hp-setup. Printer is the HP OfficeJet Pro 8730.

Therefore I will start a Feature Freeze Exception request for syncing the Debian package into Ubuntu in this bug report.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Build log, from the following commands:

pull-debian-source hplip
sudo pbuilder create --distribution focal
sudo pbuilder build --logfile hplip_3.20.3+dfsg0-1-pbuilder-focal-20200313.log.txt hplip_3.20.3+dfsg0-1.dsc

Command ended with exit code 0.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Log of updating HPLIP on an up-to-date Fpcal system with this command:

sudo dpkg -i /var/cache/pbuilder/result/*.deb 2>&1 | tee hplip_3.20.3+dfsg0-1-installation-focal-20200313.log.txt

All binary packages (built by pbuilder) of HPLIP 3.20.3+dfsg0-1 got installed by this. Exit code is 0.

Package tested and it works as described in the initial description of this bug report.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Rest status of bug to "New" for the FFe process.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Note that the bug will not auto-close as due to the fact that we will sync the Debian package the debian/changelog entry does not contain a reference to this bug report.

[Hans Joachim Desserud (hjd)]

>Hans Joachim Desserud, the Ubuntu delta is small, only a patch to fix the build with Python 3.8.The patch file is debian/patches/python3.8.diff.

Yes, I saw the Ubuntu delta was small. However, at the time the Debian changelog didn't mention python 3.8 so I didn't know if that part was resolved in Debian or not. It didn' seem to integrate the Ubuntu patch, but a) Debian could have added an equivalent patch or b) upstream had fixed python 3.8 support or c) a merge would be needed. Most likely a merge would be needed, but a bit tricky to tell. :)

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Upstream (Debian) has fixed the Python 3.8 support, overtaking exactly the patch which we are using. They are only renaming all patches and so it does not look that obvious.

The version I ask for getting synced is hplip_3.20.3+dfsg0-1 from Debian unstable:

https://packages.debian.org/sid/hplip

Here is the full debian/changelog:

https://metadata.ftp-master.debian.org/changelogs//main/h/hplip/hplip_3.20.3+dfsg0-1_changelog

The Python 3.8 patch got introduced in version 3.20.2+dfsg0-2 already. It is named

0072-Fix-building-with-Python-3.8.patch

and you dee by the attached build log that the package actually builds under Focal.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[Łukasz Zemczak (sil2100)]

Seeing the regression introduced in 3.20.2 I feel a bit uneasy bumping the version so late in the cycle, but I guess it's been around already for people to find the obvious bugs. I approve of this FFe - please sync 3.20.3 as soon as possible.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Synced 3.20.3+dfsg0-1 from Debian unstable.

[Till Kamppeter (till-kamppeter)]

Made it into the release of Focal, closing.

[nmaxx (nmaxx)]

Great work, thanks a lot :)