Binary package hint: python-uno
Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope / 9.04 alpha 6
The python uno-bridge to Openoffice.orgs API is maintained for python 2.3.4. Ubuntu, like other distributions uses more recent python versions instead, python 2.6 since ubuntu 9.04. This can lead to incompatabilities.
The simple python script in the attachment can be stored into /home/<user>/.openoffice.org/3/user/Scripts/python (may have to be created). Then the macro "pyunotest" can be run from within an Ooo-Document with Tools->Macros->Run Macro->My Macros->pyunotest. It will crash and deliver a "Type Error _uno_import() got an unexpected keyword argument 'fromlist'" and a Traceback like
File "/usr/lib/python2.6/encodings/__init__.py", line 100, in search_function
level=0),
simply because the "encoding"-method for strings has been used!
The same bug has been reported to opensuse 11.1 and a bug fix has been suggested. See
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-bugs/2008-11/msg13827.html and https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=448776.
The error leads to the crash of many python extensions and scripts, including my own, GnuCash to Ooo (http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/project/gnuc2ooo) and the mailmerge function in OpenOffice (see http://documentation.openoffice.org/manuals/oooauthors/Mail-Merge.pdf), as reported to opensuse. While the importance of my macro is debatable, the mailmerge-function is obviously important for many small businesses and associations.
Kind regards
Knut
Thanks for the great detailed bug report! :-)
I have contacted the Novell developers to determine what is going on with that bug as we use the same ooo-build codebase that they do so why it isn't already fixed is a mystery to me.
Thanks,
Chris