Or, an easier idea is to do an install with a --noconfig(does no-act do this?) or something that would delay the configuration of packages. THEN, we can set up whatever other tools that would allow us to configure these packages, either through a GUI, ncurses, or interactive text message. The new tools would then set the "configured" flag we already have in each package. The dpkg --configure is obviously there to allow for packages that have not been configured. I havn't looked TOO closely at the package structure in a while, but it seems this would make it MUCH easier to install for newbies. What do you think? Dave Bristel On Thu, 27 May 1999, Amos Shapira wrote: > Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 13:14:33 +0300 > From: Amos Shapira <amos@gezernet.co.il> > To: debian-devel@lists.debian.org > Cc: goswin.brederlow@student.uni-tuebingen.de > Subject: Re: PROPOSAL: automatic installation and configuration > Resent-Date: 27 May 1999 10:14:40 -0000 > Resent-From: debian-devel@lists.debian.org > Resent-cc: recipient list not shown: ; > > From: Massimo Dal Zotto <dz@cs.unitn.it> > > Whichever automatic installation system we decide to introduce in Debian, > > a reorganization (more or less substantial) will be absolutely mandatory. > > > > The current configuration method is totally incompatible with an automatic > > installation system, and the best installation tool we could design would be > > totally useless unless *ALL* packages have been made compatible with it. > > I think I understand what you mean by that and agree with it. > > I did some more thinking about the proposed system and noticed that > even, for instance, it is used with an X11 interface to pop-up a > window for each question individually, it can get quite annoying to > the user. > > Another option to do this without needing a major reorg might be to > instruct script writers to concentrate ALL the questions as early as > possible in the script, hopefully in one large chunk. That way it > might be easier to replace the entire chunk of questions with some > database-access command (or consolidate the questions in a single GUI > window). > > > If we design a general enough dpkg-getconfig/dpkg-message API we could later > > replace the initial tool with a much more sophisticated one, possibly using > > a totally different user interface or method for handling the configurations. > > Right. > > Cheers, > > --Amos > > --Amos Shapira | "Of course Australia was marked for > | glory, for its people had been chosen > amos@gezernet.co.il | by the finest judges in England." > | -- Anonymous >
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