Bug: Activity backups with missing libraries break activity and course backup/restore

[danowar2k]

Situation:

• Backup an activity on site A, which has h5p library LIB X.Y
• Restore the activity on site B, which has LIB X.Y not installed
• End up with a broken HVP activity
  • Can't be viewed
  • Can't be backed up and restored
  • Complete course doesn't work anymore

This of course only happens if you have set the old site to not backup H5P libraries (which one has to do often, because the library backup process takes ages).

Better would be if the above restore leads to a cancelled backup with a clear message that HVP activity called "NAME" couldn't be restored because library LIB X.Y is missing on the site.

Also helpful would be to be able to install older library versions....

[PhilippImhof]

Additionally, I'd like to note that fixing the "main_library_id" manually in the DB often does not solve the problem, because many activities use more than one library and, as it seems, all versions must match exactly. Otherwise, one gets messages like this

The version of the H5P library H5P.TrueFalse used in this content is not valid. Content contains H5P.TrueFalse 1.6, but it should be H5P.TrueFalse 1.8.

I don't think this is really necessary, because normally, one should be able to use content built with older versions on a server with more recent versions. The same is true for the "main_library_id"; the restore should IMHO just check if the necessary library has at least the expected version, but not just put a zero value if the versions do not match exactly.

Also, I wonder whether there have been any attempts in solving this issue. If I were to submit a PR, what are the chances for it to be merged?

[otacke]

@danowar2k Think you know by now: I was made a community maintainer for H5P Group's repositories a few weeks ago.

So, in the name of H5P Group: Sorry for not replying so far.

Yes, setting $CFG->mod_hvp_backup_libraries = "0" will cause that dilemma - you get smaller backup files quickly, but nothing ensures that you will have the corresponding libraries on your target Moodle instance.

I hope that #588 can deliver on the promise that it makes, speeding up the backup. Then $CFG->mod_hvp_backup_libraries = "0" might come obsolete.

Apart from that, I agree that these arefully justified feature requests (and I think they are feasible - cannot tell for sure as my Moodle knowledge is not too extensive; @lucaboesch may know better):

• "As an admin, when I restore an ".mbz" file, I want to be informed if some H5P content cannot find a required library and therefore won't work (What content? What libraries are missing?)"
• "As an admin, I want to be able to upgrade existing content that depends on H5P.Foo-a.b to H5P.Foo.x.y (where x.y > a.b) if H5P.Foo.x.y is installed." (that might not be a huge effort if it does not work today)

I'll move the request to the status "verified by community maintainer" (see H5P Open Source Project (view)), meaning the pull request is to be picked up by H5P Group once it has been prioritized. Please note, however, that I don't know when they are going to handle this. My powers end here.