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Re: [custom] Debian Enterprise - a Custom Debian Distribution



On Tue, 2003-12-02 at 13:42, Niall Young wrote:
> On 2 Dec 2003, Zenaan Harkness wrote:
> 
> > - debconf package configurations (with "enterprise" defaults)
> 
> To me this is still the largest hurdle, having to work around packages
> that don't yet use debconf,

AIUI, policy will not change "should" to "must" until enough packages
already support debconf - otherwise you break too many packages with RC
bugs and testing goes dormant for centuries (well, too long anyway).

Solution: if it's important to you, get in and start finding packages
which could use debconf, and email the maintainers for discussion, and/
or supply patches if you have time and knowledge.

> install of every package in Debian, pre-seeding debconf, or even a
> separate Debian "registry" if debconf isn't meant to work like this, so
> you could replicate a system 100% accurately.  Even being able to apply
> a new debconf/registry profile and then asking all packages to
> reconfigure, that would be impressive.

There are many potentially nice features. It is happening and their is
interest - FAI, debix, debian-enterprise and other Custom Debian
Distributions (aka subprojects, metadistros and flavours) - basically
various groups would like such facilities, so it's a shared feature
wish.

> Then it's just a matter of customising anything not handled completely
> by debconf with, if you will, flavour-postinst etc. in a metapackage or
> udeb or flavour/class definition.  Flavours could consist only of Debian
> packages from the archive, plus this freely shared metapackage.  Perhaps
> this could even replace the task system eventually, including postinst

exactly - lost of cool stuff

> commands etc.  All of the value adding that flavours can provide will be
> in that last stage, modifying the default configuration, adding pretty
> interfaces or whatever..  Maybe the terms I've used are incorrect, I'm
> only vaguely familiar with metapackages/udeb etc. but you get the idea.
> Flavours simply become a wrapper or d-i hook performed after package
> installation, to utilise and remain 100% Debian.  Perhaps the flavour
> definition is hosted in the archive and policy compliant, perhaps not.

plenty of ideas, good stuff. Do you code and have time and have interest
to contribute?

> Building live CDs and non-interactive installs are relatively
> straightforward, but will remain a hack and a maintainer nightmare until
> the infrastructure enables and supports them imho.

Perhaps it really is getting to a good time to start a cdd@ldo list
(custom debian distributions) for all such topics ??

cheers
zen

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