Re: cdebconf, --> INPUT medium debian-installer/main-menu; <-- 30 Question skipped
On Sun, Oct 14, 2001 at 08:54:04AM -0700, Randolph Chung wrote:
> Hi Peter,
>
> I'm not exactly sure what you mean:
I admit I wasn't either. I have made some progress in my
understanding though.
> > What happens to the default I put into the template though ?
> > I was thinking that it would take my default and act on it.
> ^^ ^^^^^^^^^
> what's "it" -- cdebconf? the installer?
cdebconf.
> what do you mean "act on it"? what do you expect it to do?
I probably meant, configure the package. I wasn't too clear
on how main-menu acted in its role as a postinst script..
Anyway, let me start all over again.
> there might well be bugs in cdebconf. it hasn't been worked on for some
> time. patches are welcome! :-)
It seems my problem is with "main-menu" (a component of
debian-installer) and not with cdebconf.
If I want the new debian-installer to run with DEBCONF_FRONTEND (sic)
set to noninteractive, then there is a problem with main-menu.
main-menu is clearly meant to be an interactive program, yet
it uses cdebconf, which should support noninteractivity (at least
I think so).
What is currently happening is that main-menu is setting
DEFAULT to the first unconfigured package it comes across in it's
list of packages created from the status file. It does an explicit
set to default, so in spite of the fact that there exists
a /var/lib/cdebconf/templates file (after running debconf-loadtemplates)
it ignores the default I set there and does the explicit set to the
one it calculated.
This I think is broken behaviour. Or at least, it should maybe
come up with the solution I want it to come up with ;)
Namely, something that lets me do a noninteractive install.
I would like to be able to control the debconf settings externally
as well. That way I can use a generic boot disc, but depending
on what is in my database (or status file, or templates.. ?)
I get a different outcome.
I think I can accomplish most of what I am after
by inserting my own defaults into the templates files after
they are unpacked into /var/lib/dpkg/info/. This saves me from
having to repack all the .udebs (or .debs too).
Maybe the place for this to be done is with debconf-loadtemplates ?
> so many projects, so little time....
> randolph
So. That leaves me with the question of how to get a set of templates
over the network before configuring things. Which comes
close to being solved if I can tell main-menu to
do dhcp right off the start, maybe with a boot time command line
so I can still have a generic debian-installer boot disc, albeit
with a hacked main-menu. I dont' see a solution to forcing network
config. to be the first thing to do for a noninteractive externally
controlled install, and besides, I don't see much use for
a debian system without a network.
Thanks for some feedback,
Peter
--
A room of G4's makes for a limited conversation.
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