Bug#507964: cdebconf-gtk-udeb: Corrupted display in Dzongkha installs with D-I RC1 in some situations
Package: cdebconf-gtk-udeb
Severity: normal
This started as a thread in -boot. I selected relevant mails and I paste
them below.
=============== Original report ====================================
Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2008 17:20:35 +0100
From: Christian Perrier <bubulle@debian.org>
While testing an installation in Dzongkha with the netinst CD, I
experienced corrupted display problems in the root password screen,
then later in all subsequent screens.
Apparently, some strings are replaced by squares, just as if some
glyphs were missing. However, this happens on *entire* screens, not
just with "random" glyphs being replaced by squares.
See screenshots listed at the end of this mail...
Also, one should note that the root passord selection screen is
slightly too long and one can easily miss the fact that there are two
input fields, one for the password and one for its confirmation....as
the confirmation input dialog is "hidden" as the bottom (and users
might miss it).
Screenshots:
http://people.debian.org/~bubulle/di-dzongkha-root.png
http://people.debian.org/~bubulle/di-dzongkha-root2.png
==============================================================
Date: Sat, 8 Nov 2008 17:34:29 +0100
From: Christian Perrier <bubulle@debian.org>
Quoting Christian Perrier (bubulle@debian.org):
> While testing an installation in Dzongkha with the netinst CD, I
> experienced corrupted display problems in the root password screen,
> then later in all subsequent screens.
>=20
> Apparently, some strings are replaced by squares, just as if some
> glyphs were missing. However, this happens on *entire* screens, not
s/screens/strings
> just with "random" glyphs being replaced by squares.
Actually, that seems to be a missing italic font.
==============================================================
Date: Sun, 9 Nov 2008 08:28:51 +0100
From: Christian Perrier <bubulle@debian.org>
Quoting Christian Perrier (bubulle@debian.org):
> > Apparently, some strings are replaced by squares, just as if some
> > glyphs were missing. However, this happens on *entire* screens, not
>=20
> s/screens/strings
>=20
> > just with "random" glyphs being replaced by squares.
>=20
> Actually, that seems to be a missing italic font.
>=20
More details...
Before the base system install step, everything is fine. The italic
font (which is used for messages that appear "under" progress bars and
the short description of select/multiselect/string debconf templates)
is properly displayed.
However, after the base system install, the first screen that comes
(the root password screen) and all screens that follow do not longer
have italics glyphs displayed. They're replaced by squares.
This is only happens, as of now, in Dzongkha installs. It does not
happen in other complex languages installs (an Hindi install is fine).
==============================================================
Date: Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:29:10 +0100
From: Christian Perrier <bubulle@debian.org>
Quoting Christian Perrier (bubulle@debian.org):
> While testing an installation in Dzongkha with the netinst CD, I
> experienced corrupted display problems in the root password screen,
> then later in all subsequent screens.
>=20
> Apparently, some strings are replaced by squares, just as if some
> glyphs were missing. However, this happens on *entire* screens, not
> just with "random" glyphs being replaced by squares.
>=20
> See screenshots listed at the end of this mail...
>=20
> Also, one should note that the root passord selection screen is
> slightly too long and one can easily miss the fact that there are two
> input fields, one for the password and one for its confirmation....as
> the confirmation input dialog is "hidden" as the bottom (and users
> might miss it).
>=20
> Screenshots:
> http://people.debian.org/~bubulle/di-dzongkha-root.png
> http://people.debian.org/~bubulle/di-dzongkha-root2.png
OK, it took me a while before I could isolate a test case. That's a
very *weird* issue.
So, to reproduce that problem, you must do the following:
- boot the graphical installer
- choose Dzongkha as installation language. Than you'll get hard times
unless you were raised in Bhutan and can read it, but you can do
it..:-)
- always pick up default options until you reach the root password
setting screen. Please note that the last screen for partitioning
requires changing the "No" option to "Yes" (confirming that you
overwrite the disk). You can do this by just hitting the Down arrow
and then Enter
-When you reach the root password screen (which has a slider on the
right because the text is too long), deliberately enter two different
passwords so that D-I complains. Typing "Root" (first pwd), then Tab
twice (so that the password confirmation is empty), then Enter, is the
way to do it
- You then get the "password mismatch" screen...which seems correct,
but again has a slider on the right. Click on the slider and scroll
down. BLAM.....the italic glyphs are replaced by squares and all
subsequent screens are also replaced by squares.
If you don't slide down in the password mismatch screen, then the
italic font will be garbled anyway on later screens.
This root password screen is the only place where I could reproduce
the problem. And for it to happen, you *must* deliberately provoke the
password mismatch dialog to appear.
My problem is that I currently test in VirtualBox and can't find a
bloody way to switch to another console and catch some debug output
there (Ctrl-Alt+F2 switches to the console on my *host* not in the
virtual machine). I have no idea how to enter Ctrl-Alt-F2 in a virtual
machine on VB. I should then use qemu or VmWare....but need to
reinstall them properly...
This was tested with the netinst CD but I suspect this also happens
with other installation media. What made me miss the issue in earlier
tests is the fact that you *must* hit the password mismatch, otherwise
no breakage happens.
==============================================================
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2008 15:53:38 +0600
From: "Tenzin Dendup" <tenzin.dendup@gmail.com>
Hi,
I am able to check the Display problem in D-I in Dzongkha only today. I
found out the following:
1. After reaching the screen to enter and also confirm the root password, if
we deliberately enter mismatching passwords and then press the "continue"
button, the next screen that warns of the password mismatch shows up
normally without the garbled italic glyphs as shown here [1]. But as soon as
we click on the slider to scroll down, the same screen shows with italic
glyphs replaced by squares as shown here [2] and [3]. Once this happens, all
subsequent screens till the end of the installation process gets garbled.
2. Without using the scrollbar slider atall, if we keep on entering
mismatching passwords, the italic glyphs gets replaced by squares after the
third time we enter the mismatching password.
3. At the first password mismatch screen, without using the scrollbar
slider, if we enter correct passwords (enter one password in the text field
that shows on the screen, then hit "TAB" and then type the confirmation
password correctly, though the second text box is not visible) and then hit
"continue" button, the subsequent screens remain OK.
4. This problem doesnt occur at the normal user's password entry screen when
we deliberately enter mismatching passwords [4]. Also, the normal user's
password mismatch screen doesnt have a scroll bar as the text contents fit
in the screen.
I tested this using netinst CDs from Lenny RC1 release and also netinst CD
from daily builds using Virtualbox.
[1] http://alioth.debian.org/~tenzin-guest/di/di-dzongkha.png
[2]http://alioth.debian.org/~tenzin-guest/di/di-dzongkha1.png
[3]http://alioth.debian.org/~tenzin-guest/di/di-dzongkha2.png
[4]http://alioth.debian.org/~tenzin-guest/di/di-dzongkha5.png
==============================================================
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2008 18:14:51 +0100
From: Christian Perrier <bubulle@debian.org>
Quoting Tenzin Dendup (tenzin.dendup@gmail.com):
> Hi,
>=20
> I am able to check the Display problem in D-I in Dzongkha only today. I
> found out the following:
Yes, that was roughly what I concluded on that matter.
It is very likely that the problem is more general than just happening
for Dzongkha. However, Dzongkha being apparently the only language
where the text doesn't fix on the screen and then needs a scrollbar,
the issue could very well be triggered by the scrollbar use.
The only short term fix I can see for this is shortening the
translation in that specific screen so that it fits on the screen.
Instead of doing this in the main PO file, I'd suggest updating
user-setup's file (attached).
I suggest focusing on the following string:
You need to set a password for 'root', the system administrative
account. A malicious or unqualified user with root access can have
disastrous results, so you should take care to choose a root password
that is not easy to guess. It should not be a word found in dictionaries,
or a word that could be easily associated with you.
==============================================================
From: Frans Pop <elendil@planet.nl>
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2008 19:34:17 +0100
On Thursday 04 December 2008, Christian Perrier wrote:
> The only short term fix I can see for this is shortening the
> translation in that specific screen so that it fits on the screen.
Or decrease the font size...
=46rom packages/rootskel-gtk/src/usr/bin/gtk-set-font:
dz)
FONT_NAME=3D"Tibetan Machine Uni"
FONT_SIZE=3D$(($FONT_SIZE + 2))
;;
We increased the font size to make it better readable, but maybe it's just=
=20
too big now.
==============================================================
Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2008 09:33:25 +0600
From: "Tenzin Dendup" <tenzin.dendup@gmail.com>
Thanks for all the help. Just to gather some more information regarding the
display error, [1] and [2] are the error messeges shown on the CTRL-ALT-F4
screen when the italic glyphs and then the whole screen gets garbled. It
looks like a font problem but this is just my guess.
[1] http://alioth.debian.org/~tenzin-guest/di/di-dz-error.png
[2] http://alioth.debian.org/~tenzin-guest/di/di-dz-error1.png
==============================================================
Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2008 22:48:58 -0500
From: "Pema Geyleg" <pema.geyleg@gmail.com>
> From packages/rootskel-gtk/src/usr/bin/gtk-set-font:
> dz)
> FONT_NAME="Tibetan Machine Uni"
> FONT_SIZE=$(($FONT_SIZE + 2))
> ;;
>
> We increased the font size to make it better readable, but maybe it's just
> too big now.
>
The default font size for the Tibetan Machine Uni font is already at its
maximum. Increasing it by two would really make it big and undesirable. The
Dzongkha language uses multiple stacking (vertically) for writing and as
such the font size should not be made larger than default size. Hope this
helps..
Regards,
==============================================================
From: Frans Pop <elendil@planet.nl>
Date: Fri, 5 Dec 2008 06:51:20 +0100
On Friday 05 December 2008, Pema Geyleg wrote:
> The default font size for the Tibetan Machine Uni font is already at
> its maximum. Increasing it by two would really make it big and
> undesirable. The Dzongkha language uses multiple stacking (vertically)
> for writing and as such the font size should not be made larger than
> default size. Hope this helps..
The only way to really decide this is to actually DO installs with=20
different font size delta settings.
Please run the installer (on real hardware, on a system with a "normal"=20
display; preferably even on a few different systems, including a laptop),=20
switch to VT2, change the FONT_SIZE line in /usr/bin/gtk-set-font, and=20
switch languages in localechooser (e.g. to English and then back to=20
Dzongkha) to make the installer use the new delta.
Then let us know what value gives the best result regarding size and=20
readability.
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