Documentation unclear about exclusions in vmid parameter and missing other parameters about cv4pve-autosnap HOT 15 CLOSED

If you want to exclude something from a set of things, you need to specify the set of things first of which you want to exclude something. That is common sense.
So by explaining the syntax how you can exclude one thing (-200), does not mean you can use that syntax by it's own.
"-200" means you want to exclude 200 from nothing, which will be less than nothing, and it doesn't makes any sense.
"all-200" means you want to exclude 200 from all the things.

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Hi,
can you write the command line you use? Best regards
Best regards

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cv4pve-autosnap --host="127.0.0.1" --api-token='snapshot@pam!snapshot=f026fff0-37a2-43fe-b717-373d60ecfea8' --vmid="-105" snap --only-running --label="once" --keep=1

whereas

cv4pve-autosnap --host="127.0.0.1" --api-token='snapshot@pam!snapshot=f026fff0-37a2-43fe-b717-373d60ecfea8' --vmid="all,-105" snap --only-running --label="once" --keep=1

works fine.

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I'm checking the problem

Best regards

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Hi,
for parameters '--only-running' or '--script' if you execute

cv4pve-autosnap snap --help 

show help sub command.

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----- VMs with '-105' NOT FOUND -----
----- POSSIBLE PROBLEM PERMISSION 'VM.Audit' -----
----- POSSIBLE PROBLEM PERMISSION 'Datastore.Audit' -----

The result of that setting is no vm found, so it could be a permissions issue.

Btest regards

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No, it is just a follow-up error because of the --vmid="-105" which in itself does not find a VM. I also thought it was a permission issue but if you correctly specify --vmid "all,-105", the problem goes away. So, if no VM is found, there should be no misleading additional errors.

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About the "show help sub": I talked about the Readme.md and the examples. I only found these parameters because someone else had referenced them.

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If no VM is found, it may be a user permissions error.

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About the "show help sub": I talked about the Readme.md and the examples. I only found these parameters because someone else had referenced them.

ok, so I have to explain all the parameters and print all the help?

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If no VM is found, it may be a user permissions error.

For the 3rd time: No, it is NOT a user permissions error. Only the error message is strongly misleading. The root cause is that I used --vmid="-105", which is inherently suggested by the help text, but does not function in itself. In order to exclude just one VM, you have to first say "all", THEN exclude a specific VM, like "all,-105". "-105" will never find any VM at all, resulting in that erroneous error message. If at all there should be a message pointing to the "possible" cause of no VM found, it should be that excluding a VM in itself can never find any VM, even if others do in fact exist.

You asked for an example, I gave it. Just try for yourself: Use --vmid="-105" (regardless if you have a VM with that number). If you expect to snapshot all the other VMs, you are mistaken and will get exactly these error messages about permissions.

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About "having to explain all the parameters" (and in a clear way): documentation is IMHO a means to convey the features of a piece of software to spare others the act of doing software archeology. I have lost hours of poking around with just the issues I mentioned.

It is like writing a book: You put much more effort into writing a book than to read it. Why? Because you are only one person and probably (hopefully) many people will read it. Therefore, time spent to make it easier on them one time is beneficial in the grand perspective.

So, if you want your software to be put to good use, take the time and make it easier for others to use it.

from cv4pve-autosnap.

About "having to explain all the parameters" (and in a clear way): documentation is IMHO a means to convey the features of a piece of software to spare others the act of doing software archeology. I have lost hours of poking around with just the issues I mentioned.

It is like writing a book: You put much more effort into writing a book than to read it. Why? Because you are only one person and probably (hopefully) many people will read it. Therefore, time spent to make it easier on them one time is beneficial in the grand perspective.

So, if you want your software to be put to good use, take the time and make it easier for others to use it.

What do you propose?

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If no VM is found, it may be a user permissions error.

For the 3rd time: No, it is NOT a user permissions error. Only the error message is strongly misleading. The root cause is that I used --vmid="-105", which is inherently suggested by the help text, but does not function in itself. In order to exclude just one VM, you have to first say "all", THEN exclude a specific VM, like "all,-105". "-105" will never find any VM at all, resulting in that erroneous error message. If at all there should be a message pointing to the "possible" cause of no VM found, it should be that excluding a VM in itself can never find any VM, even if others do in fact exist.

You asked for an example, I gave it. Just try for yourself: Use --vmid="-105" (regardless if you have a VM with that number). If you expect to snapshot all the other VMs, you are mistaken and will get exactly these error messages about permissions.

the result is no vm, it could be due to the exclusion of all, or because you don't have permissions. I don't know which of the two brings no result. The fact is that specifying an exclude '-105' without specifying what to include is an operator error, and generates no result in the program.
I hope I have explained myself.

Best regards

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My proposal would be:

1. Clarify how excluding works. Now it reads: "-vmid or -name exclude (e.g. -200,-TestUbuntu)", so you exactly give a non-working example in the parentheses, thus forcing this "operator error" by using a bad example. Better would be to explain it like: "-vmid or -name exclude from list, e.g.: 'all,-200,-301' or "all,-TestUbuntu", but not '-200' alone"

2. If you have "potential" error messages, add "POSSIBLE PROBLEM VMID specification should be 'all,-vmid' instead of '-vmid'. You could even find that specific operator problem because a valid VMID specification must never start with '-'.

3. Include the missing parameters in the Readme.md, you do not have to explain them in detail, just mention their existence.

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