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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

ASIAIR and opensource software licences

  • Posts: 22
  • Thank you received: 30
I've been hassling ZWO about this for a while now, had posts removed and am currently on a 30 day timeout from one of their Facebook groups for bringing it up again. I've done forensic teardowns of the ASIair Pro, as well as ripped apart the update packages. I've emailed ZWO, I've DM'd the owner on Facebook, nothing. Silence.

Here's what I've found. The ASIAir 1.4.0 image you can download from their website is packing indilserver 1.8.2. Doing an update from the ASIAir 2.0 app, using the current 10.46 build, does some fun stuff. They're using APT for package management, and the update grabs a bunch of updates from a Chinese raspberrypi.org mirror, except for five packages, which I believe are transferred to the ASIair directly from the tablet application:
Get:16 /tmp/zwo/update/deb/asiair_armhf.deb asiair armhf 1.0.0-1046 [9,138 kB]
Get:17 /tmp/zwo/update/deb/indi_stargo-y_armhf.deb indi-stargo armhf 1.5-2 [138 kB]
Get:18 /tmp/zwo/update/deb/indi_starbook-y_armhf.deb indi-starbook armhf 0.8-1 [681 kB]
Get:19 /tmp/zwo/update/deb/indi_eqmod-y_armhf.deb indi-eqmod armhf 0.7-6 [448 kB]
Get:20 /tmp/zwo/update/deb/indi-y_armhf.deb libindi1-y armhf 1.7.8-22 [8,974 kB]

The first, the asiair_armhf_deb package, is the core runtime apps that drive the guider, imager, and updater, as well as the shell scripts for managing the wifi and other essentials. The -1046 minor version tag matches the 10.46 version of the tablet app.

If you're using the INDI kit, he other four will look pretty familiar, except for the -y suffix.

Pulling the update packages off to another host because the asiair is usually running a read-only file system and the tools I need for this aren't installed there:
billn@Hadriel:~/asiair-dpkg$ scp pi@10.0.1.32:/tmp/zwo/update/deb/*-y*.deb .
indi_eqmod-y_armhf.deb                                                                                                       100%  438KB  34.9MB/s   00:00
indi_starbook-y_armhf.deb                                                                                                    100%  665KB  38.1MB/s   00:00
indi_stargo-y_armhf.deb                                                                                                      100%  135KB  32.5MB/s   00:00
indi-y_armhf.deb                                                                                                             100% 8764KB  38.6MB/s   00:00
billn@Hadriel:~/asiair-dpkg$ scp pi@10.0.1.32:/tmp/zwo/update/deb/asiair*.deb .
asiair_armhf.deb                                                                                                             100% 8924KB  35.3MB/s   00:00
billn@Hadriel:~/asiair-dpkg$ for i in `ls`
> do
> mkdir $i.d
> cd $i.d; ar -x ../$i; cd ..; done
billn@Hadriel:~/asiair-dpkg$ ls
asiair_armhf.deb    indi-y_armhf.deb    indi_eqmod-y_armhf.deb    indi_starbook-y_armhf.deb    indi_stargo-y_armhf.deb
asiair_armhf.deb.d  indi-y_armhf.deb.d  indi_eqmod-y_armhf.deb.d  indi_starbook-y_armhf.deb.d  indi_stargo-y_armhf.deb.d

So that's all five packages unpacked. Cracking open indi-y:
billn@Hadriel:~/asiair-dpkg$ cd indi-y_armhf.deb.d/
billn@Hadriel:~/asiair-dpkg/indi-y_armhf.deb.d$ ls
control.tar.xz  data.tar.xz  debian-binary
billn@Hadriel:~/asiair-dpkg/indi-y_armhf.deb.d$ tar xvf control.tar.xz
./
./control
billn@Hadriel:~/asiair-dpkg/indi-y_armhf.deb.d$ tar xvf data.tar.xz
./
./lib/
./lib/udev/
./lib/udev/rules.d/
./lib/udev/rules.d/80-dbk21-camera.rules
./lib/udev/rules.d/99-focusers.rules
./lib/udev/rules.d/99-indi_auxiliary.rules
./lib/udev/rules.d/99-vantage.rules
./usr/
./usr/bin/
./usr/bin/indi_aaf2_focus
./usr/bin/indi_arduinost4
./usr/bin/indi_astromech_lpm
./usr/bin/indi_astrometry
./usr/bin/indi_baader_dome
./usr/bin/indi_celestron_gps
./usr/bin/indi_celestron_sct_focus
./usr/bin/indi_deepskydad_af1_focus
./usr/bin/indi_deepskydad_af2_focus
./usr/bin/indi_dmfc_focus
./usr/bin/indi_dsc_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_eval
./usr/bin/indi_fcusb_focus
./usr/bin/indi_flipflat
./usr/bin/indi_gemini_focus
./usr/bin/indi_getprop
./usr/bin/indi_gpusb
./usr/bin/indi_hid_test
./usr/bin/indi_hitecastrodc_focus
./usr/bin/indi_ieq_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_imager_agent
./usr/bin/indi_integra_focus
./usr/bin/indi_ioptronv3_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_joystick
./usr/bin/indi_lacerta_mfoc_focus
./usr/bin/indi_lakeside_focus
./usr/bin/indi_lx200basic
./usr/bin/indi_lx200generic
./usr/bin/indi_lynx_focus
./usr/bin/indi_manual_wheel
./usr/bin/indi_mbox_weather
./usr/bin/indi_meta_weather
./usr/bin/indi_microtouch_focus
./usr/bin/indi_moonlite_focus
./usr/bin/indi_moonlitedro_focus
./usr/bin/indi_nfocus
./usr/bin/indi_nightcrawler_focus
./usr/bin/indi_nstep_focus
./usr/bin/indi_onfocus_focus
./usr/bin/indi_openweathermap_weather
./usr/bin/indi_optec_wheel
./usr/bin/indi_paramount_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_pegasus_ppb
./usr/bin/indi_pegasus_upb
./usr/bin/indi_perfectstar_focus
./usr/bin/indi_pmc8_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_pyxis_rotator
./usr/bin/indi_qhycfw2_wheel
./usr/bin/indi_qhycfw3_wheel
./usr/bin/indi_quantum_wheel
./usr/bin/indi_robo_focus
./usr/bin/indi_rolloff_dome
./usr/bin/indi_scopedome_dome
./usr/bin/indi_script_dome
./usr/bin/indi_script_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_sestosenso_focus
./usr/bin/indi_setprop
./usr/bin/indi_siefs_focus
./usr/bin/indi_simulator_ccd
./usr/bin/indi_simulator_detector
./usr/bin/indi_simulator_dome
./usr/bin/indi_simulator_focus
./usr/bin/indi_simulator_gps
./usr/bin/indi_simulator_guide
./usr/bin/indi_simulator_sqm
./usr/bin/indi_simulator_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_simulator_weather
./usr/bin/indi_simulator_wheel
./usr/bin/indi_skycommander_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_skysafari
./usr/bin/indi_skywatcherAltAzMount
./usr/bin/indi_skywatcherAltAzSimple
./usr/bin/indi_smartfocus_focus
./usr/bin/indi_snapcap
./usr/bin/indi_sqm_weather
./usr/bin/indi_star2000
./usr/bin/indi_steeldrive_focus
./usr/bin/indi_synscan_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_synscanlegacy_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_tcfs_focus
./usr/bin/indi_temma_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_trutech_wheel
./usr/bin/indi_usbdewpoint
./usr/bin/indi_usbfocusv3_focus
./usr/bin/indi_v4l2_ccd
./usr/bin/indi_vantage_weather
./usr/bin/indi_watchdog
./usr/bin/indi_watcher_weather
./usr/bin/indi_weather_safety_proxy
./usr/bin/indi_wunderground_weather
./usr/bin/indi_xagyl_wheel
./usr/bin/indiserver
./usr/lib/
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/indi/
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/indi/MathPlugins/
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/indi/MathPlugins/libindi_SVD_MathPlugin.so
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libindiAlignmentDriver.so.1.7.8
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libindidriver.so.1.7.8
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libindilx200.so.1.7.8
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/pkgconfig/
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/pkgconfig/libindi.pc
./usr/share/
./usr/share/indi/
./usr/share/indi/drivers.xml
./usr/share/indi/indi_tcfs_sk.xml
./usr/bin/indi_eq500x_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_ioptronHC8406
./usr/bin/indi_lx200_10micron
./usr/bin/indi_lx200_16
./usr/bin/indi_lx200_OnStep
./usr/bin/indi_lx200ap
./usr/bin/indi_lx200ap_experimental
./usr/bin/indi_lx200ap_gtocp2
./usr/bin/indi_lx200autostar
./usr/bin/indi_lx200classic
./usr/bin/indi_lx200fs2
./usr/bin/indi_lx200gemini
./usr/bin/indi_lx200gotonova
./usr/bin/indi_lx200gps
./usr/bin/indi_lx200pulsar2
./usr/bin/indi_lx200ss2000pc
./usr/bin/indi_lx200zeq25
./usr/bin/indi_skyhunter_telescope
./usr/bin/indi_tcfs3_focus
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libindiAlignmentDriver.so
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libindiAlignmentDriver.so.1
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libindidriver.so
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libindidriver.so.1
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libindilx200.so
./usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/libindilx200.so.1

I can't readily find a libindi1-1.7.8 debian package to compare this to, but at the most basic, we have this:
billn@Hadriel:~/asiair-dpkg/indi-y_armhf.deb.d$ cat control
Package: libindi1-y
Priority: extra
Section: checkinstall
Installed-Size: 17268
Maintainer: root@raspberrypi
Architecture: armhf
Version: 1.7.8-22
Provides: libindi
Description: Instrument-Neutral Device Interface library -- shared library
Replaces: libindi-plugins, libindi0, libindialignmentdriver1, libindidriver1, indi-bin, libindi-data, libindi1
Conflicts: libindi-plugins, libindi0, libindialignmentdriver1, libindidriver1, indi-bin, libindi-data, libindi1
Depends: libc6,libgsl23,libgslcblas0,libstdc++6,libgcc1,libusb-1.0-0,libnova-0.16-0,libcfitsio7,zlib1g,libjpeg62-turbo,libudev1,libcurl3-gnutls,libbz2-1.0,libnghttp2-14,libidn2-0,librtmp1,libssh2-1,libpsl5,libnettle6,libgnutls30,libgssapi-krb5-2,libkrb5-3,libk5crypto3,libcom-err2,libldap-2.4-2,libunistring2,libhogweed4,libgmp10,libgcrypt20,libp11-kit0,libtasn1-6,libkrb5support0,libkeyutils1,libsasl2-2,libgpg-error0,libffi6,libcurl4,libssl1.1

22 revisions on 1.7.8, if I'm reading that correctly. I've done this teardown before, but I can't find my dumps of it to compare against an older version. I'll keep digging around, I'm sure it's here somewhere. If someone has an ASIair that hasn't been powered on in a while and wants to dropbox me an image of the SD card, I can tear that open for the last update and compare.

The last time I was digging around in here, I was trying to sideload drivers for my Sesto Senso 2 and Esatto EAFs, figuring it's an indiserver, I expect a certain level of interoperability, maybe I can trick it into using my focusers, or at least use a separate app to control them and get the functionality I want without buying a ZWO EAF when I already have two excellent ones. However, this didn't work, and I couldn't figure out why until I started stack tracing the indiserver and drivers to sort it out. Restarting the indiserver with my specifically requested drivers loaded, calls to the focuser weren't going to the USB serial device for either focuser, but were instead forcibly redirected to the tcp port of the zwo_imager application.
root@asiair:/home/pi# netstat -plan | grep LIST
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:4700            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      732/zwoair_imager
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:445             0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      1069/smbd
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:4030            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      718/zwoair_guider
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:4350            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      568/zwoair_updater
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:4800            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      732/zwoair_imager
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:4801            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      732/zwoair_imager
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:4040            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      718/zwoair_guider
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:4360            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      568/zwoair_updater
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:139             0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      1069/smbd
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:4400            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      718/zwoair_guider
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:4500            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      718/zwoair_guider
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:22              0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      384/sshd
tcp        0      0 0.0.0.0:8888            0.0.0.0:*               LISTEN      653/pigpiod

I haven't done too deep a dive into what's going on for each of the different listening socks for each app but both the guider and imager apps have some familiar bits inside of them:
billn@Hadriel:~/asiair-dpkg/asiair_armhf.deb.d/home/pi/ASIAIR/bin$ strings zwoair_imager | grep -i phd
PHD_fits_close_file
PHD_fits_open_diskfile
PHD_fits_create_file
PHD2_GuideLog
billn@Hadriel:~/asiair-dpkg/asiair_armhf.deb.d/home/pi/ASIAIR/bin$ strings zwoair_guider | grep -i phd
PHDGuidingV2
Your %s is preventing PHD from making adequate corrections to keep the guide star locked. Increase the %s to allow PHD2 to make the needed corrections.
Even using the maximum moves, PHD2 can't properly correct for the large guide star movements in %s. Guiding will be impaired until you can eliminate the source of these problems.
Calibration step = phdlab_placeholder, Max RA duration = %d, Max DEC duration = %d, DEC guide mode = %s
PHD2_GuideLog
PHD2 version, Log version
*ZL28MakeGaussianProcessGuideAlgoP5Mount9GuideAxisE15PHD2DebugLogger
PhdController failed: %s
PhdController: newstate STATE_FINISH
PhdController: setup
PhdController: newstate STATE_ATTEMPT_START
PhdController: not ready: %s
PhdController: guider state = %d
PhdController: newstate STATE_SETTLE_BEGIN
PhdController: newstate STATE_CALIBRATION_WAIT
PhdController: start capturing
PhdController: newstate STATE_SELECT_STAR
PhdController: newstate STATE_CALIBRATE
PhdController: newstate STATE_WAIT_SELECTED
PhdController: clearing calibration
PhdController: start calibration
PhdController: newstate STATE_GUIDE
PhdController: setting Dec guide mode to %s for dither settle
PhdController: newstate STATE_SETTLE_WAIT
PhdController: settling, locked = %d, distance = %.2f (%.2f) aobump = %d frame = %d / %d
PhdController: restore Dec guide mode to %s after dither
PhdController complete: success
PhdController complete: fail: %s
PhdController: newstate STATE_IDLE
PhdController::Guide reentrancy state = %d op = %d
PhdController::Guide begins
PhdController: newstate STATE_SETUP
PhdController::Dither reentrancy state = %d op = %d
PhdController::Dither begins
PhdController: forcing dither RA-only since Dec guide mode is %s
PhdController::Dither pMyDev->Dither failed
manual or phd1-style dither
PHD2_DebugLog*.txt
PHD_fits_close_file
PHD_fits_open_diskfile
PHD_fits_create_file

So it looks like the guider started out as Phd2, which is distributed under the BSD license. Looking at the guider log, we see a few familiar functions from Phd2, with extensions that make sense to support the tablet app.
 1-23_23:11:02.116673 [handle_cli_input_event]->4400:{  "id" : 56,  "method" : "get_ra_dec_history"}
 1-23_23:11:02.116816 [do_notify1]<-4400(0):{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"get_ra_dec_history","error":"history is empty now","code":321,"id":56}
 1-23_23:11:02.117046 [Wait]join thread success
 1-23_23:11:02.117154 [Wait]join thread>
 1-23_23:11:02.118127 [handle_cli_input_event]->4400:{  "id" : 57,  "method" : "get_camera_binning"}
 1-23_23:11:02.118321 [do_notify1]<-4400(0):{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"get_camera_binning","error":"device not connected","code":318,"id":57}
 1-23_23:11:02.118515 [Wait]join thread success
 1-23_23:11:02.118624 [Wait]join thread>
 1-23_23:11:02.119311 [handle_cli_input_event]->4400:{  "id" : 58,  "method" : "scope_get_track_state"}
 1-23_23:11:02.119458 [do_notify1]<-4400(0):{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"scope_get_track_state","error":"mount is not connected","code":315,"id":58}
 1-23_23:11:02.119651 [Wait]join thread success
 1-23_23:11:02.119760 [Wait]join thread>
 1-23_23:11:02.121107 [handle_cli_input_event]->4400:{  "id" : 59,  "method" : "scope_get_ra_dec"}
 1-23_23:11:02.121352 [do_notify1]<-4400(0):{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"scope_get_ra_dec","error":"fail to operate","code":207,"id":59}
 1-23_23:11:02.121588 [Wait]join thread success
 1-23_23:11:02.121733 [Wait]join thread>
 1-23_23:11:02.121813 [handle_cli_input_event]->4400:{  "id" : 60,  "method" : "scope_is_moving"}
 1-23_23:11:02.121950 [do_notify1]<-4400(0):{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"scope_is_moving","error":"mount is not connected","code":315,"id":60}
 1-23_23:11:02.122144 [Wait]join thread success
 1-23_23:11:02.122299 [handle_cli_input_event]->4400:{  "id" : 61,  "method" : "get_flip_calibration"}

Digging through strings output of the 1.7.8 indiserver in /usr/bin nets us some gems as well:
pi@asiair:/usr/bin $ strings indiserver | grep indi | more
/home/pi/project/gitee-indi-1.7.8/libindi
/home/pi/project/gitee-indi-1.7.8/libindi/libs
indiserver.c
indidevapi.h
/home/pi/project/gitee-indi-1.7.8/libindi
/home/pi/project/gitee-indi-1.7.8/libindi/libs
indi_tstamp
indiFIFO
indi_port
indiRun
indiListen
/home/pi/project/gitee-indi-1.7.8/build/libindi-minsizerel
/home/pi/project/gitee-indi-1.7.8/libindi/indiserver.c
/home/pi/project/gitee-indi-1.7.8/libindi/fq.c
/home/pi/project/gitee-indi-1.7.8/libindi/libs/lilxml.c
indiserver.c
indi_tstamp
indiFIFO
root@asiair:/usr/bin# strings zwo_deleteStarsTool  | grep Siril
FITS image format %d is not supported by Siril.

So, yeah. Binary distributions of modified source trees for more than one open source kit. I don't know enough about licensing for the third party drivers, but it appears a few of those have been modified as well, from reading other forums where folks have had issues with those particular mounts. If they're contributed to the indi-3rdpart repo, that's also LGPL-2.1, so source/changes needs to be provided for those as well. Siril is GPL3. Phd2 is BSD-3, which requires disclosure of the license and copyright notice.

If an INDI server is running on something, I expect a certain behavior profile, like being able to load drivers and have them work. As configured, the indiserver distributed by ZWO on the ASIAir is deliberately configured to prohibit the use of hardware from competing vendors, which is anti-thetical to what I consider the open source spirit to be. Another word for that is 'anti-competitive'.

This is extra shady because ZWO has INDI drivers for their hardware, but they don't use them on the ASIair. They aren't even present on the unit. If ZWO wanted to leverage the indiserver legally in their product, they could ship it with everyone else's drivers removed, eat their own dog food, and make sure their INDI drivers are best of breed. Just my two cents.

Edit: Oh, looking at the ASI drivers I see that ZWO didn't write them. My bad.
Second edit: First edit broke my markup.
The following user(s) said Thank You: gehelem, Peter Sütterlin, Inder, Chris Kuethe
Last edit: 1 year 2 months ago by Bill Nash.
1 year 2 months ago #89837

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  • Posts: 22
  • Thank you received: 30
Cracking open the ASIAir 2.0 xapk..
billn@Hadriel:~$ cp Downloads/ASIAIR_2.0_Apkpure.xapk .
billn@Hadriel:~$ file ASIAIR_2.0_Apkpure.xapk
ASIAIR_2.0_Apkpure.xapk: Zip archive data, at least v2.0 to extract
billn@Hadriel:~$ mkdir apk
billn@Hadriel:~$ cd apk
billn@Hadriel:~/apk$ unzip ../ASIAIR_2.0_Apkpure.xapk > apk.manifest
billn@Hadriel:~/apk$ ls
Android  apk.manifest  com.zwoasi.asiair.apk  icon.png  manifest.json

APKs are just ZIP compressed files, nothing exotic. I'm not an android dev, xapk looks like some type of extended APK format, so there's an APK inside the APK.

After some hunting, turns out I didn't need to unpack the extra APK. In previous versions, what I was looking for was in the assets/ dir of the APK, but this time it's in the patch section of the XAPK:
billn@Hadriel:~/apk/Android/obb/com.zwoasi.asiair$ unzip patch.76.com.zwoasi.asiair.obb
Archive:  patch.76.com.zwoasi.asiair.obb
   creating: patch/
  inflating: patch/.gitignore
  inflating: patch/air_pi3
  inflating: patch/air_pi4
  inflating: patch/readme.md

air_pi3 and air_pi4 are themselves bzip2 compressed archives, these will be transferred to the ASIair gadgets for updates.
billn@Hadriel:~/apk/Android/obb/com.zwoasi.asiair/patch$ file air*
air_pi3: bzip2 compressed data, block size = 900k
air_pi4: bzip2 compressed data, block size = 900k
 
billn@Hadriel:~/apk/Android/obb/com.zwoasi.asiair/patch$ bunzip2 air_pi4
bunzip2: Can't guess original name for air_pi4 -- using air_pi4.out
 
billn@Hadriel:~/apk/Android/obb/com.zwoasi.asiair/patch$ bunzip2 air_pi4
bunzip2: Can't guess original name for air_pi4 -- using air_pi4.out
 
billn@Hadriel:~/apk/Android/obb/com.zwoasi.asiair/patch$ tar -xvf air_pi4.out
update_package.sh
deb/
deb/libopencv-calib3d3.2_3.2.0+dfsg-6_armhf.deb
deb/indi_stargo-y_armhf.deb
deb/libcdio-paranoia2_10.2+0.94+2-4_armhf.deb
deb/libsdl2-2.0-0_2.0.9+dfsg1-1+rpt1_armhf.deb
deb/libcdio-cdda2_10.2+0.94+2-4_armhf.deb
deb/libfuse2_2.9.9-1_armhf.deb
deb/exfat-fuse_1.3.0-1_armhf.deb
deb/asiair_armhf.deb
deb/python3-ephem_3.7.6.0-7+b1_armhf.deb
deb/ffmpeg_7%3a4.1.4-1+rpt1~deb10u1_armhf.deb
deb/libntfs-3g883_2017.3.23AR.3-3_armhf.deb
deb/indi-y_armhf.deb
deb/nginx_1.11.8_armhf.deb
deb/libopencv-flann3.2_3.2.0+dfsg-6_armhf.deb
deb/indi_starbook-y_armhf.deb
deb/indi_eqmod-y_armhf.deb
deb/libavdevice58_7%3a4.1.4-1+rpt1~deb10u1_armhf.deb
deb/libgphoto2-6_2.5.27-1_armhf.deb
deb/librockchip-mpp1_1.5.0-1_armhf.deb
deb/libopencv-video3.2_3.2.0+dfsg-6_armhf.deb
deb/libopencv-ml3.2_3.2.0+dfsg-6_armhf.deb
deb/ntfs-3g_2017.3.23AR.3-3_armhf.deb
deb/fuse_2.9.9-1_armhf.deb
deb/libxss1_1%3a1.2.3-1_armhf.deb
deb/libgphoto2-port12-2.5.27-1_armhf.deb
deb/libopencv-features2d3.2_3.2.0+dfsg-6_armhf.deb
others/
others/pro-smb.conf
others/plus-smb.conf
others/dwc2.ko
others/xhci-pci.ko

I assume the IOS package does something similar, both app stores are used as a vehicle to distribute the modified libraries that ZWO hasn't provided source for, which puts them in breach of contract for the relevant GPL/LGPL/BSD licenses, which means they have no rights to distribute the code, which puts them in violation of the developer agreements for both stores.

Fun!

edit: whoops markdown
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Last edit: 1 year 1 month ago by Bill Nash. Reason: fixed markdown formatting
1 year 1 month ago #89997

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And to answer the original question, the Pro and Plus get the same updates. The update scripts in the asi_pi4 tarball check for a Pi4 or the RK3568 board.
billn@Hadriel:~/apk/Android/obb/com.zwoasi.asiair/patch$ grep Rock update_package.sh
cat /proc/device-tree/model|grep -i -e 'Pi 4' -e 'Pi Compute Module 4' -e 'ZWO AirPlus-RK3568 (Linux)' -e 'Rockchip'
        cat /proc/device-tree/model|grep -i -e 'Pi Compute Module 4' -e 'ZWO AirPlus-RK3568 (Linux)' -e 'Rockchip'
cat /proc/device-tree/model|grep -i -e 'Pi Compute Module 4' -e 'ZWO AirPlus-RK3568 (Linux)' -e 'Rockchip'
1 year 1 month ago #90002

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1 year 1 month ago #90014

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Yes they did, but only credits
I've seen a few screenshots, a menu on asiair app, with links

Nothing related to the modified code afaik
1 year 1 month ago #90015

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1 year 1 month ago #90016
Attachments:

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Not that I've found rooting around in the device. Even if they added credits to the app, that would only satisfy the Phd2 license, I believe. LGPL and GPL3 covered tools, like indilib, Siril, and astrometry.net all require modified source disclosure, in addition to propagating the license. I've been asking ZWO for their modified code repo for months and gotten stonewalled.
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Last edit: 1 year 1 month ago by Bill Nash.
1 year 1 month ago #90023

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There exists a website of the FSF with more information and contacts regarding GPL violations:
gpl-violations.org/ and even a wikipedia page linking also to the website:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gpl-violations.org
1 year 1 month ago #90025

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GPL violations are an interesting bit, and legally, you need 'standing' in order to file a suit in the courts to compel or otherwise sanction violators. Today, any owner of the libs in question can shoot ZWO an email and let them know they're in violation and their rights to distribute/include the libs in their product are thusly terminated, which would force ZWO to comply or otherwise retool, against the threat of legal action.

Alternatively, the GPL/LGPL both contain language stating that the license to redistribute is automatically terminated if the license is violated. Demonstrating the violation, as I have here, is probably sufficient evidence for a third party, such as the Google and Apple app stores, to find on their own that ZWO is in violation of their respective developer agreements, as each agreement requires the developer to have legal and valid distribution rights for anything in the app. I think I've effectively shown here that is not the case, not just for indilib, but also potentially for code lifted from Siril and a few others. User complaints in the app stores to bring this to their attention are an option, and the app stores can then act on their own, to protect themselves from liability. Given that ZWO has ignored user requests to comply, for well over a year now, that's probably the only other thing that would get ZWO to honor their obligations to the community and developers that they're effectively stealing from. Asking vendors carrying the ASIair to stop selling it until they comply is also an option. ZWO clearly has ignored the users, but they won't ignore the channels they need to continue profiting from their malfeasance.

The whole thing really undermines anything ZWO has done to get more people into the hobby and community, in my opinion. Moving forward, if they want to fix this, they should retool their tablet app to function against a stock INDI server in the same manner that Kstars+EKOS does, so it uses the indilib appropriately, and allows for interoperation with devices from other manufacturers, which they can then say are completely unsupported, your mileage may vary, and still allow folks with the ability to support their own drivers and hardware to do so. That would be using open source code in the same spirit that they've benefited from, instead of pulling up the ladder behind them.
Last edit: 1 year 1 month ago by Bill Nash.
1 year 1 month ago #90031

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Cracking open the 2.1.48 beta released this weekend..
billn@Hadriel:~/Downloads/ASIAIR_2.1.48/assets/patch$ tar -xvf air_pi4.out
update_package.sh
deb/
deb/libopencv-calib3d3.2_3.2.0+dfsg-6_armhf.deb
deb/indi_stargo-y_armhf.deb
deb/libcdio-paranoia2_10.2+0.94+2-4_armhf.deb
deb/libsdl2-2.0-0_2.0.9+dfsg1-1+rpt1_armhf.deb
deb/libcdio-cdda2_10.2+0.94+2-4_armhf.deb
deb/libfuse2_2.9.9-1_armhf.deb
deb/exfat-fuse_1.3.0-1_armhf.deb
deb/asiair_armhf.deb
deb/python3-ephem_3.7.6.0-7+b1_armhf.deb
deb/ffmpeg_7%3a4.1.4-1+rpt1~deb10u1_armhf.deb
deb/libntfs-3g883_2017.3.23AR.3-3_armhf.deb
deb/indi-y_armhf.deb
deb/nginx_1.11.8_armhf.deb
deb/libopencv-flann3.2_3.2.0+dfsg-6_armhf.deb
deb/indi_starbook-y_armhf.deb
deb/libgphoto2-6_2.5.30-1_armhf.deb
deb/indi_eqmod-y_armhf.deb
deb/libavdevice58_7%3a4.1.4-1+rpt1~deb10u1_armhf.deb
deb/librockchip-mpp1_1.5.0-1_armhf.deb
deb/libgphoto2-port12-2.5.30-1_armhf.deb
deb/libopencv-video3.2_3.2.0+dfsg-6_armhf.deb
deb/libopencv-ml3.2_3.2.0+dfsg-6_armhf.deb
deb/ntfs-3g_2017.3.23AR.3-3_armhf.deb
deb/fuse_2.9.9-1_armhf.deb
deb/libxss1_1%3a1.2.3-1_armhf.deb
deb/libopencv-features2d3.2_3.2.0+dfsg-6_armhf.deb
others/
others/boot-mini.img
others/pro-smb.conf
others/plus-smb.conf
others/dwc2.ko
others/fw_bcm43456c5_ag.7.45.96.125.20220120.bin
others/AP6256_NVRAM_V1.4_06112021.txt
others/xhci-pci.ko

Dependency changes since last version:
deb/libgphoto2-6_2.5.27-1_armhf.deb
deb/libgphoto2-port12-2.5.27-1_armhf.deb

Cracking open the update:
billn@Hadriel:~/Downloads/ASIAIR_2.1.48/assets/patch/deb/asiair_armhf$ tar -xvf data.tar
./
./etc/
./etc/default/
./etc/default/dnsmasq
./etc/default/hostapd
./home/
./home/pi/
./home/pi/ASIAIR/
./home/pi/ASIAIR/asiair.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/Soft03Cmt.txt
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/auto_shutdown.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/comets.py
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/common.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/mount_udisk.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/network.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/old_log_mv.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/planet.py
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/read_power_cm4.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/read_power_mini.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/read_power_rk.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/run_update_pack.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/set_timezone.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/start_INDI.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/zwoair_ap_led.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/zwoair_daemon.sh
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/zwoair_guider
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/zwoair_imager
./home/pi/ASIAIR/bin/zwoair_updater
./home/pi/ASIAIR/config
./home/pi/ASIAIR/lib/
./home/pi/ASIAIR/lib/libASICamera2.so
./home/pi/ASIAIR/lib/libEAFFocuser.so
./home/pi/ASIAIR/lib/libEFWFilter.so
./usr/
./usr/bin/
./usr/bin/plot-constellations_my
./usr/bin/solve-field_my
./usr/bin/zwo_deleteStarsTool

Usual suspects, guider, imager, updater. zwo_deleteStarsTool is a Siril derivative.

solve-field_my is a modified astrometry.net solve-field.
billn@Hadriel:~/Downloads/ASIAIR_2.1.48/assets/patch/deb/asiair_armhf$ strings usr/bin/solve-field_my  | grep astrometry
astrometry-engine
For details, visit http://astrometry.net.
https://github.com/dstndstn/astrometry.net
use this config file for the "astrometry-engine" program
run astrometry-engine once, rather than once per input file
just write the augmented xylist files; don't run astrometry-engine.
Visit us on the web at http://astrometry.net/
../include/astrometry

plot-constellations_my is, as well:
billn@Hadriel:~/Downloads/ASIAIR_2.1.48/assets/patch/deb/asiair_armhf$ strings usr/bin/plot-constellations_my | grep -i astrometry
This program is part of the Astrometry.net suite.
For details, visit http://astrometry.net.
https://github.com/dstndstn/astrometry.net
../include/astrometry

The astrometry license started as BSD, but is GPL3 'tainted', so all GPL3 terms apply:
"NOTE: Parts of the code written by the Astrometry.net Team are
licensed under the 3-clause BSD-style license below. HOWEVER, since
this code uses libraries licensed under the GNU GPL (including a
vendored GSL), the whole work must be distributed under the GPL
version 3 or later."

libindi version is still 1.7.8-22, so changes this round are likely purely in the base asiair package, to go with the libgphoto2 update, expanding camera support for some Sony bodies.

Still no source code included with the update. My last emails with ZWO, I was assured that their CEO would be in touch with me, 'within the week', two weeks ago. I've had a lovely conversation with myself in the interim.
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1 year 1 month ago #90515

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I went digging through the imager binary, looking for the strings that identify supported camera bodies, and ran across something fun.
gp_camera_new error: %s
gp_abilities_list_new failed (%d): %s
gp_abilities_list_load failed (%d): %s
gp_abilities_list_lookup_model failed (%d): %s
gp_abilities_list_get_abilities (%d): %s
gp_port_info_list_new (%d): %s
gp_port_info_list_load (%d): %s
gp_port_info_list_count (%d): %s
The port you specified ('%s') can not be found. Please specify one of the ports found by 'gphoto2 --list-ports' and make sure the spelling is correct (i.e. with prefix 'serial:' or 'usb:').
gp_port_info_list_get_info (%d): %s
gp_camera_init error: %s

It appears that whole items from the libgphoto2/examples directory (github.com/gphoto/libgphoto2/blob/master/examples/autodetect.c) are included in the zwoair_imager binary. That code is LGPL-2.1, which taints zwo's whole imager with the same license requirements (github.com/gphoto/libgphoto2/blob/master/COPYING):
"These requirements apply to the modified work as a whole. If
identifiable sections of that work are not derived from the Library,
and can be reasonably considered independent and separate works in
themselves, then this License, and its terms, do not apply to those
sections when you distribute them as separate works. But when you
distribute the same sections as part of a whole which is a work based
on the Library, the distribution of the whole must be on the terms of
this License, whose permissions for other licensees extend to the
entire whole, and thus to each and every part regardless of who wrote
it."

Whoops.
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1 year 1 month ago #90517

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Well, looks like my nagging has shown some progress:

github.com/ZWODevTeam/indilib

The owner finally responded to my Facebook DMs, we're now having a conversation about the other covered code I found.

Edit: The repo is woefully incomplete. It's a 1.7.5 fork, but the running binaries are 1.7.8, with 22 releases worth of revisions not reflected here.
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Last edit: 1 year 1 month ago by Bill Nash.
1 year 1 month ago #90782

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