Hello!
(This is just a quick heads-up for the PackageKit-using people in
Debian, so if you don't use PK, you can skip this mail.)
We are currently cleaning up PackageKit[1] upstream, which means some
functionality will soon no longer be available anymore.
Short-term (= with one of the next uploads to Debian), I will remove
the Smart backend from Debian, to use PackageKit with the Smart
package-manager. This backend has also been removed upstream.
So if you use/want to use PK with that backend, act now and implement
the necessary bits upstream! The backend is currently broken in
Debian, and carrying it around does not make much sense.
The other long-term removed features include:
* Transaction hooks (scripts to run after and before Pk transactions)
* Support for plugins
* .desktop file database and package-list caches
* maybe the debug-info installer as well, although that's in discussion
So, if you use one of these things, it would be good to think about a
replacement, or give feedback upstream to keep these features.
Depending on the state of PackageKit's reverse dependencies and other
factors (use of the features described above by users), I will include
the next release of PackageKit (1.0) which has the cleanup done in
Jessie or not (currently, keeping 0.9.x seems more likely)
PackageKit also has support for systemd-based offline-updates for a
while now, which downloads updates while the system is running, and
installs them in a special mode when the system is rebooting. This
should ensure that no breakage happens when running applications are
replaced with new versions. This is, however, a completely optional
feature, and updates of the system while it is running are still
possible with PK.
I would like if apps could say somehow (maybe an extension to the AppStream format?) whether they need offline updates, or if online is fine, so that it is only when needed. Also, an option to ignore apps' preferences and just do always offline or always online should be present (in PK's configuration).
Is this how the feature has been implemented? Do you think upstream (and you as an AppStream supporter / developer) would be enthusiastic about adding this, if it is not the status quo?