Bug#213669: cdebconf-newt-udeb: progress bar dialog changes size all the time, which is ugly

[Matt Kraai <kraai@alumni.cmu.edu>]

On Thu, Oct 02, 2003 at 02:05:59PM +0100, Richard Hirst wrote:
> On Thu, Oct 02, 2003 at 05:48:42AM -0700, Matt Kraai wrote:
> > On Wed, Oct 01, 2003 at 10:55:17PM +0200, Steinar H. Gunderson wrote:
> > > With the "progress bar status text wrapping" patch that was made at
> > > debcamp, the dialog changes size all the time (it changes height) to
> > > make room for the new text. When the text changes frequently (like
> > > installing packages from a fast source) this makes the dialog box change
> > > size back and forth all the time, which flickers and is really really
> > > ugly.
> > > 
> > > I'd propose keeping it at a fixed height (say, three lines) and simply
> > > cropping the text if it is larger than that -- alternatively, make the
> > > minimum height three lines and making it expand above that, which at
> > > least reduces the flickering considerably.
> > 
> > This isn't such a problem on my 128-column console.  :)
> > 
> > I'd prefer to only let it grow, rather than truncate the text.
> > Here's the patch I'll commit if it passes testing.
> 
> It'll still look ugly, as it flickers between
> 
> 
> Retrieving: http://beast/debian/pool/main/e/ef/ef_0.3_ia64.udeb
> 
> 
> Retrieving:
> http://beast/debian/pool/main/e/efi-reader/efi-reader_0.3_ia64.udeb
> 
> 
> Retrieving: 
> http://beast/debian/pool/main/l/long-efi-reader/long-efi-reader_0.3
> _ia64.udeb
> 
> I accept that it isn't a problem for your wide console, which is why I
> originally suggested that the frontend, which presumably knows the space
> it has available, should truncate the start of the path name.  Giving
> something like:
> 
> 
> Retrieving: http://beast/debian/pool/main/e/ef/ef_0.3_ia64.udeb
> Retrieving: ...debian/pool/main/e/efi-reader/efi-reader_0.3_ia64.udeb
> Retrieving: ...l/main/l/long-efi-reader/long-efi-reader_0.3_ia64.udeb
> 
> 
> where the one interesting bit on information, the package name, is in a
> fairly consistent position on the screen.
> 
> It is a bit ugly from a technical pov having the frontend know it has to
> truncate the start of the second component of the string, but it'll look
> a whole lot nicer.

The frontend receives an opaque string to display.  I don't want
it to guess which part is the filename.  If truncating is really
the right solution, the postinst should request the maximum width
from cdebconf and do the truncating itself.

-- 
Matty