Quick Start instructions - Install the transformer - SaxonC 12.5 has been upgraded to 12.8 - unable to install

[Inachis]

Hi,
I've followed the Quick Start right through to successfullly testing the analyzer.

Install the transformer: I can't locate the specified SaxonC 12.5 release and 12.8 seems to need an update to Install the transformer: instructions as structure has changed?

Cheers,
Kelvin

[dacracot]

Kelvin,

I see what you mean. Version 12.8 seems to be the latest and older versions do not seem to be readily available. I have not tried this latest version, but I do not do anything exotic with XSLT, so I would be surprised if it can not be installed in lieu of 12.5. Either way, I will open an issue to upgrade from 12.5 to 12.8 and make sure it works.

Yours,
dacracot

[dacracot]

I create a new release for this soon, but in the meantime...

• Install the transformer:
  1. Expand the SaxonC-HE 12.8 release file obtained from Saxonica.
     • mkdir SaxonC-HE-12.8
     • cd SaxonC-HE-12.8
     • unzip SaxonCHE-linux-aarch64-12-8-0.zip
  2. Install the transformer for general usage.
     • cd /usr/lib
     • sudo mkdir -p Saxonica/SaxonC-HE-12.8.0
     • sudo cp -v ~/SaxonC-HE-12.8/SaxonCHE-linux-aarch64-12-8-0/SaxonCHE/lib/*so* Saxonica/SaxonC-HE-12.8.0
     • cd /usr/bin
     • sudo mkdir -p Saxonica/SaxonC-HE-12.8.0
     • sudo cp -v ~/SaxonC-HE-12.8/SaxonCHE-linux-aarch64-12-8-0/SaxonCHE/bin/Transform Saxonica/SaxonC-HE-12.8.0
     • sudo ln -s Saxonica/SaxonC-HE-12.8.0/Transform XSLTransform
  3. Run transformer test.
     • cd ~/SaxonC-HE-12.8/SaxonCHE-linux-aarch64-12-8-0/samples/data
     • XSLTransform -s:books.xml -xsl:books.xsl

[dacracot]

Hmm... Still something wrong with this.

[Inachis]

OK, I'll hold off for the time being.

btw, the previous step has cd BirdNET-Analyzer-2.1.1, thus Install the transformer: should start with cd .. - just me being pedantic!

Cheers,
Kelvin

[dacracot]

Good point about the "cd ..". I'll pay closer attention to the context of each install. :)

[dacracot]

So I'm pretty sure I've got it so you can continue your installation. It took more refactoring than I anticipated because the changes to SaxonC-HE and how they changed so much between 12.5 which I first used approximately a year ago, and their 12.8 release which came out just this month. What's more the older 12.5 version is no longer available on Saxonia'a download page. Keep in mind that the fixes are only in the BirdNET-BarChart release 2.1. If you had already gotten 2.0, you will need to abandon it for the newer.

Something else in version 2.1 is the revival of sharing to Birdweather.com. Check it out for more info.

It is hard QAing your own code and I'm just a lone ranger here, so you triggered this release. Thank you for the feedback.

[Inachis]

Hi,
Rest of installation went OK but for Test the transformer used by this software: what should I type for ${XSLTransform} -s:books.xml -xsl:books.xsl ? I got:
${XSLTransform} -s:books.xml -xsl:books.xsl
-bash: -s:books.xml: command not found

I think cd .. also required for Install this software:

• Microphone found;
• Didn't bother with getting tokens for Open Weather Map or Birdweather;
• start.sh Started;
• html directory only contains the default Apache2 Debian Default Page
• ran all the Apache permissions under sudo
• stopped and restarted;
• where are the charts?

Almost there...!

Kelvin

[dacracot]

The value of ${XSLTransform} should be set by source ~/.BirdNET-BarChart. This is the file created by the config.sh script.

The chart will be at http://yourhost/BirdNET-BarChart/birding.html. The dial will not be complete for 24 hours. Without the Open Weather Map token you won't see any weather icons or weather conditions below the dial. Bar charts and tables should show up after the first analysis run which happens every hour on the hour.

The best place to look for issues is the logs directory and especially YYYY-MM-DD-HH-hourly.err and YYYY-MM-DD-HH-hourly.out.

[Inachis]

I'm up and running!

Initial feedback:

• Charts are monochrome - see attachments

• Barchart truncated on right - see attached

• Looking for favicon.ico in root html directory - it is in /var/www/html/BirdNET-BarChart - see attached

• Lots of BirdWeather.err files...all complain about lack of token, but I'm not sharing atm...how to turnoff sharing?

• Lots of BirdWeather.out files...do they accumulate over time? Regular clean up needed?

• backup.err]: /home//BirdNET-BarChart-2.1/backup/backup.sh: line 37: ssmtp: command not found

• [-hourly.out]: Error: Cannot combine results from /home//BirdNET-BarChart-2.1/work/2025/07/11/21/2025-07-11T21:43.BirdNET.results.csv.

• [-hourly.err]:
  /home//BirdNET-BarChart-2.1/hourly.sh: line 29: git: command not found
  /home//BirdNET-BarChart-2.1/hourly.sh: line 30: git: command not found
  /home//BirdNET-BarChart-2.1/hourly.sh: line 31: git: command not found
  Terminated
  % Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current
  Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed

  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:-- 0
  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:-- 0
  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- 0:00:01 --:--:-- 0
  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- 0:00:02 --:--:-- 0
  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- 0:00:03 --:--:-- 0
  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- 0:00:04 --:--:-- 0
  100 108 100 108 0 0 20 0 0:00:05 0:00:05 --:--:-- 24
  Error on line 1 column 1 of weather.xml:
  SXXP0003 Error reported by XML parser: Content is not allowed in prolog.
  SXXP0003 Error reported by XML parser: Content is not allowed in prolog.
  INFO: INFO: INFO: Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.

  WARNING: WARNING: WARNING: Attempting to use a delegate that only supports static-sized tensors with a graph that has dynamic-sized tensors (tensor#187 is a dynamic-sized tensor).Attempting to use a delegate that only supports static-sized tensors with a graph that has dynamic-sized tensors (tensor#187 is a dynamic-sized tensor).Attempting to use a delegate that only supports static-sized tensors with a graph that has dynamic-sized tensors (tensor#187 is a dynamic-sized tensor).

Not sure which are issues or my configuration but hope the feedback is useful.

Looking forward to charts over longer period.

Re. "The value of ${XSLTransform} should be set by source ~/.BirdNET-BarChart. This is the file created by the config.sh script.", sorry my limited Linux experience still can't understand what I should actually type in to test the transfermer.

Cheers,
Kelvin

[dacracot]

I'm up and running!

Fantastic.

Initial feedback:
Charts are monochrome - see attachments

This is expected. Let it run for a couple of days and then run the util/color.sh script. It will assign a color to the most confidently heard bird. Run it several times to color the next and next most confident.

Barchart truncated on right - see attached

Yeah, that is a known issue. I need to set the visibility and scroll to better handle large numbers.

Looking for favicon.ico in root html directory - it is in /var/www/html/BirdNET-BarChart - see attached

Hmm… Not sure about this. I’ll look into it.

Lots of BirdWeather.err files...all complain about lack of token, but I'm not sharing atm...how to turnoff sharing?

Do you know how to edit your crontab? There will be an entry at the bottom showing a script called Birdweather.sh. Either comment that line or delete it.

Lots of BirdWeather.out files...do they accumulate over time? Regular clean up needed?

The log files do accumulate for weekly, daily, hourly, etc. The weekly.sh script will compress the logs and eventually delete them according to the percentage you set in the configuration in order to attempt to keep storage usage below your set threshold.

backup.err]: /home//BirdNET-BarChart-2.1/backup/backup.sh: line 37: ssmtp: command not found

Did you run sudo apt install ssmtp from the quick start? Perhaps it failed?

[-hourly.out]: Error: Cannot combine results from /home//BirdNET-BarChart-2.1/work/2025/07/11/21/2025-07-11T21:43.BirdNET.results.csv.

Have not seen that one. I’ll see if I can reproduce it.

[-hourly.err]:
> /home//BirdNET-BarChart-2.1/hourly.sh: line 29: git: command not found
> /home//BirdNET-BarChart-2.1/hourly.sh: line 30: git: command not found
> /home//BirdNET-BarChart-2.1/hourly.sh: line 31: git: command not found

The git command is how I show the version and commit at the bottom of the display. If you used the zip or tar.gz download rather than cloning the git repo you will get these errors. I should accommodate either scenario.

Terminated
% Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current
Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:-- 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:-- 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- 0:00:01 --:--:-- 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- 0:00:02 --:--:-- 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- 0:00:03 --:--:-- 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 --:--:-- 0:00:04 --:--:-- 0
100 108 100 108 0 0 20 0 0:00:05 0:00:05 --:--:-- 24
Error on line 1 column 1 of weather.xml:
SXXP0003 Error reported by XML parser: Content is not allowed in prolog.
SXXP0003 Error reported by XML parser: Content is not allowed in prolog.

All of this is due to the lack of having an Open Weather Map token. It means the attempt to get the current weather and subsequent processing failed.

INFO: INFO: INFO: Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.Created TensorFlow Lite XNNPACK delegate for CPU.
WARNING: WARNING: WARNING: Attempting to use a delegate that only supports static-sized tensors with a graph that has dynamic-sized tensors (tensor#187 is a dynamic-sized tensor).Attempting to use a delegate that only supports static-sized tensors with a graph that has dynamic-sized tensors (tensor#187 is a dynamic-sized tensor).Attempting to use a delegate that only supports static-sized tensors with a graph that has dynamic-sized tensors (tensor#187 is a dynamic-sized tensor).

These warnings are coming from the analyzer. I’ve reported it to them and they say it is harmless and will be removed from the next release.

Not sure which are issues or my configuration but hope the feedback is useful.

It's very useful. Keep it coming.

Looking forward to charts over longer period.

Re. "The value of ${XSLTransform} should be set by source ~/.BirdNET-BarChart. This is the file created by the config.sh script.", sorry my limited Linux experience still can't understand what I should actually type in to test the transfermer.

So the command is quite cryptic if you aren’t used to linux. Take the command: /usr/lib/ld-linux-aarch64.so.1 --library-path XXX/lib XXX/bin/Transform and replace the XXX with the location of your Saxon lib and bin directories. Mine would be /home/dacracot/SaxonC-HE-12.8/SaxonCHE-linux-aarch64-12-8-0/SaxonCHE.

[Inachis]

Thanks for the explanations.

I've commented the Birdweather.sh out in crontab.

btw, should there be an reboot entry for start.sh in crontab?

Did you run sudo apt install ssmtp from the quick start? Perhaps it failed?

Yes, and reunning it says ssmtp is already the newest version (2.64-11).

I got the Run transformer test to work by:

• cd /home/user/SaxonC-HE-12.8/SaxonCHE-linux-aarch64-12-8-0/samples/data
• /usr/lib/ld-linux-aarch64.so.1 --library-path /home/user/SaxonC-HE-12.8/SaxonCHE-linux-aarch64-12-8-0/SaxonCHE/lib /home/user/SaxonC-HE-12.8/SaxonCHE-linux-aarch64-12-8-0/SaxonCHE/bin/Transform -s:books.xml -xsl:books.xsl

Cheers,
Kelvin

[dacracot]

The crontab takes effect without a reboot.

[Inachis]

After an overnight power-down, it didn't appear to gather data until I ran the start.sh, hence my question...will keep an eye on it.

[Inachis]

Hi,
Probably should be in a new thread but the earlier image shows "Bird song observations as of..." - time seems to be GMT and location is ''.

Is this to do with LOCALE setting in .BirdNET-BarChart which is '' - it was not set by config.sh.

[dacracot]

The date/time come from your OS. Try date from the CLI and you will get the same as displayed. I always set my OS to the local time.

[Inachis]

birding.html created at 17:04 has Bird song observations as of Monday, 14 July 2025 at 16:00 when I would have expected at 17:00, i.e. for the period 16:00-1700?

CLI date is Mon 14 Jul 17:17:53 BST 2025

[dacracot]

Observations are run for the previous hour of recordings.

Your timezone seems to be set so, I'm not sure why you would be getting GMT.

[Inachis]

I suspect it may be to do with my not having an Open Weather Map token...?

from Filezilla shows that the hourly.sh "runs twice"...hourly.out is created twice.

The first correctly timed(19:00) just produces:

Monday, 14 July 2025 at 19:00
~/BirdNET-BarChart-2.1 ~
~
 

and no more. Then the 'previous' one(18:00) follows and in doing so creates the birding.html that has time an hour earlier:

Monday, 14 July 2025 at 18:00
~/BirdNET-BarChart-2.1 ~
~
 
weather sucess on attempt 1
~/BirdNET-Analyzer-2.1.1 ~
Model found!
Found 60 files to analyze
Species list contains 138 species
etc.

This one claims weather success, then proceeds with the analysis....almost like the hourly.sh hangs for an hour?

Now getting colo(u)r in the charts!

Cheers,
Kelvin

[dacracot]

Each time hourly runs it starts the recording on a backgrounded process and sleeps for 60 minutes. It then wakes up and processes the recordings with the analyzer, inserts them into the database, and creates the HTML. Post wake up, it processes for about 6 to 8 minutes. This causes the hourly script just started by cron to overlap the one processing. This is by design.

As for the weather sucess on attempt 1, I suspect it is successful at returning a message that you do not have a token. Check the sky/weather.xml file that it outputs to see if it has more detail.