Re: r49295 - in trunk/packages/arch/i386/win32-loader: . debian l10n l10n/po templates

[Robert Millan <rmh@aybabtu.com>]

On Sun, Sep 16, 2007 at 09:13:45PM -0400, Joey Hess wrote:
> > > BTW, the implementation is also somewhat buggy. Some failure modes
> > > and potential issues:
> > > 
> > > * win32-loader running from a CD that does not have kde on it, and yet
> > >   still offering kde.
> > > [...]
> > > * win32-loader being used for a derived distribution that does not have
> > >   kde or gnome tasks (ie, debian-edu), and yet still asking which to
> > >   install.
> > > [...]
> > > * tasksel being changed to default to kde -> win32-loader will still
> > >   assume it defaults to gnome. (An added gotcha for derived distros.)
> > 
> > Ah, right.  So this should be a win32-loader.ini parameter, and behave in a
> > similar way to isolinux.cfg.  I could add an option in win32-loader.ini to add
> > arbitrary parameters to Linux cmdline.  Does that suit you?
> 
> I'm sure that could be a useful option. Are you looking at it as a way
> for users to preseed tasksel/desktop?

That would be quite complicated.  Asking the user a select question with a
static number of answers is easy, and taking what the CDs tells us without
asking the user is easy too, but a mixture of these can be a mess to write
in NSIS.

I would just have win32-loader.ini have an _optional_ parameter like
"desktop=(gnome|kde|xfce)" that CDs can use to tell win32-loader that there's
only this desktop choice.  Like with other options in win32-loader.ini, its
non-presence means all are available and user can select.

> > > PS: If there are many cases where tasksel's existing heuristics don't
> > > default to selecting the desktop task on installs started from
> > > win32-loader (though this seems unlikely), we could add a preseed hint
> > > that win32-loader could use to tell tasksel the system used to run windows.
> > > Tasksel could factor this into its heuristics to make a better decision.
> > 
> > Good idea.  How about "bootloader=win32-loader" ?
> 
> It'd need to be tasksel/bootloader or some such. But I'd rather first
> hear of some cases where tasksel doesn't make a good guess without it.
> The only time it seems likely to not default to installing the desktop
> is if win32-loader is used to start d-i from a rackmount machine. In
> that situation, there's probably not a good default and defaulting the
> task to unselected, which is currently does, is probably the sanest
> option even.

Actually, it sounds useful in a generic way, but I really haven't thought
of any real use case.  Perhaps it's better not to bother about it yet..

-- 
Robert Millan

<GPLv2> I know my rights; I want my phone call!
<DRM> What use is a phone call, if you are unable to speak?
(as seen on /.)