31.2.0.1 doesn't used saved logins from 27.5.0

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Ran Talbott
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31.2.0.1 doesn't used saved logins from 27.5.0

Unread post by Ran Talbott » 2022-09-11, 14:09

Operating system: Ubuntu 20.04
Browser version: 31.2.0.1
32-bit or 64-bit browser?: 64
Problem URL: All
Browser theme (if not default):
Installed add-ons: None
Installed plugins: (about:plugins):None

After using 64-bit Ubuntu 16.04 and Palemoon 27.5.0 (I'm not sure where I got it, but I see that it was installed in /opt/palemoon, not /usr/bin) for years, I've installed 20.04, and Palemoon 31.2.0.1 from the opensuse deb download page. I'm using the same /home partition.

The new version is using the old profile, and remembers most things, like sites I've visited and my bookmarks bar. But not saved logins. I saw a comment about making sure autofill is checked. It wasn't, so I checked it and restarted. Still no saved logins, but the saved exceptions are there (I didn't check for them earlier, so I don't know whether that changed).

I've confirmed using other tools that the logins.json and key files are valid. Is this a bug? Or did I miss something about the upgrade?

Thanks,

Ran

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Moonchild
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Re: 31.2.0.1 doesn't used saved logins from 27.5.0

Unread post by Moonchild » 2022-09-11, 15:22

You missed something about the upgrade, in that you should watershed through a specific version range to have the storage format of logins updated from dbm to sqlite.
See http://developer.palemoon.org/docs/profile-migration/

It's the problem when you don't upgrade for a long time, then jump several milestones in one go and expecting it to forward migrate forever (which isn't always possible, e.g. when old format code is no longer included)
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

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Ran Talbott
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Re: 31.2.0.1 doesn't used saved logins from 27.5.0

Unread post by Ran Talbott » 2022-09-12, 20:32

Thanks for the explanation. Here's what I did:
1. tarred up the profile (parts of which had been modified by 31.2.0.1. I don't know whether it would no longer work with 27.5.0, but I'm definitely not going back, so I don't care).
2. 27.9.4 is no longer online, so I downloaded 28.17.0 and installed it in a temporary directory.
3. Started it from the command line. Confirmed that saved passwords showed up.
4. tarred up the profile again.
5. Went back to 31.2.0.1 through the GUI. Everything appears to be hunky and/or dory.

I understand that trying to cope with every previous version could easily turn into spaghettified mess of hard-to-test code. But it would be fairly simple to version-stamp the profile, and add something like:

Code: Select all

if profile_major_version < my_minimum_compatible_version or profile_major_version > my_major_version:
    its_okay_flag = prompt_user_to_check_release_notes()
    if its_okay_flag:
        check_profile_version_at_startup = False
        dont_write_to_profile_flag = False
    else:
        # leave check_profile_version_at_startup True
        dont_write_to_profile_flag = True
The reduction in time answering questions in the forum would probably pay for it :D

Thanks for all the work you've put into Pale Moon. It's really nice to have a non-bloated browser that isn't bigger than most of the operating systems I've used in my career, especially on my older laptops.

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Moonchild
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Re: 31.2.0.1 doesn't used saved logins from 27.5.0

Unread post by Moonchild » 2022-09-12, 21:28

While I appreciate your input, it's just not practical. The issue is not only that users apparently don't stay updated with a reasonable frequency, but also that there is no overlap here. very old versions don't have the code for the new format and the other way around. Just checking versions and sending people to the release notes of a watershed version where this is explained won't solve the problem that people don't read release notes and just assume everything is backwards compatible forever. It's that assumption by the user that is the problem here, not anything technical or something that can somehow be mitigated with release engineering without annoying everyone else or making things way too complicated (and therefore fragile). It's also not possible to introduce code into already-published versions. There is a reason why the internal updater has been disabled for versions older than a certain milestone because it just becomes too complicated to continue to cater to every version in the past.

As you have seen this situation is actually fairly rare, and every time it's discussed on the forum it all the more likely someone is pointed to the profile migration page I pointed you to ;-)
"Sometimes, the best way to get what you want is to be a good person." -- Louis Rossmann
"Seek wisdom, not knowledge. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future." -- Native American proverb
"Linux makes everything difficult." -- Lyceus Anubite

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