Re: Clarification: Eliminate nagging at installation time?
Norbert Nemec <nobbi@cheerful.com> writes:
> I do not talk about where packages should get their configuration
> information from, I did talk about what they do, if they do not have the
> information necessary. (And even with he perfect autoconfig system, there
> will be stuations when the packages lack some information they need to
> configure completely)
My proposal talks about experience levels for questions. The user can
then set his experience level to 0 (the value used for frontends,
remote config, cloneing and all other automatik configs). The he will
only be asked questions which have a level of 0 or less, which none
should have, since its reserved.
Packages which can't configure itself with an experience level of zero
might report an error but not ask. After configuration the frontend
can then notify the user of packages with errors.
> IMO, packages should under no circumstances complain
> about anything if it is avoidable at all. No matter if there is a automatic
> configuration system or not. We should simply make it policy that a package
> should always install to some safe state without asking any questions at
> installation time. Now, if there is any configuration necessary before the
> package can be used, it should put a notice in a log file that is viewed
> automatically after all packages have been installed.
Giving the user the choise (via the experience level) is better in my
view and it has the advantage that excessive questions for paranoid
admins can be hidden from unexperienced users.
> It was said, this would be a long process because a large heap of packages
> will have to be worked over. If it is made policy and bugs are filed against
> packages that do not comply, the process should not be that long. Of course,
> we can leave the maintainers plenty of time before the severity of these
> bugs is raised, but once there is a apropriate logging mechanism within the
> postinst scripts, it will not be a big deal to change anyway.
There aren't so many that actually ask questions. Much more anoying
are the updates, where many config files will ask to be updated (which
should be far less with a per value comaprrison as most proposes have)
May the Source be with you.
Goswin
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