Re: cleaning up our task packages
On 10.XII.2000 at 15:52 Wichert Akkerman wrote:
> Previously Nils Lohner wrote:
> > It's clean, flexible, and allows for all levels of customization.
>
> But we don't want that, we already have packages for that. What we
> basically want is 10 to 15 system profiles and a complete novice
> can just pick one or more and have a reasonably default setup.
The problem is that 10 to 15 and even 50 is not enough for an universal
distribution like Debian. Now every developer can make task packages.
If we want only 15 task packages, then we need some form of control.
But who will decide what task package is acceptable for Debian? Task
packages slowly become like simple metapackages (like communicator
or navigator).
I don't think this is bad. A newbie would prefer a short list of
profiles for first time install. But what is prefered after the first
time install: 5000 Debian packages or about 100 task packages?
How to solve easily the colision with the two purposes of the task
packages? Here is what I propose: task profiles.
When the user instals Debian there should be a question `What kind of
system is this?' with chouses like `server' and `desktop'. It seams to
me that the Debian 2.0 instaler had such a question. After that the
user should choose not between all task packages, but only between the
task packages in task-profile-server or task-profile-desktop or what
ever task profile he/she choosed.
> Like Joey said, this is *not* for us, it's for newbies who don't
> want/know how to customize but want a quick and simple way to get
> a system installed.
The original purpose of task packages was to help the newbies. But now
their number increases and they became slightly less usefull for
newbies and much more usefull for us. Someone, who has more knowledge
made selection for me.
Anton Zinoviev, <zinoviev@debian.org>
Reply to: