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Re: Desktop upgrade strategy (was: What should be upgraded first: kernel or userland?)



On Fri, Mar 23, 2007 at 06:52:15PM +0100, Frans Pop wrote:
> > >     - making sure openoffice does not get removed
> > Shouldn't it be easier to get it removed and the reinstall it?

> Same arguments as earlier.

> Problem with openoffice.org is that tasksel used to install 
> openoffice.org-bin which depended on openoffice.org. The -bin package no 
> longer exists in Etch. This probably should be fixed before the release 
> (by adding a dummy openoffice.org-bin package depending on 
> openoffice.org). No idea how complex this is when it comes to proper 
> Replaces/Conflicts and such.

Well, it's painful in terms of build time certainly.  I don't think Rene
would be happy if we asked him for this. :)

> It can however also be worked around with:
>    aptitude unmarkauto openoffice.org

And that should be a no-op for users who don't have OOo installed, right, so
this recommendation could be safely included in the release notes with no
danger of side-effects or user confusion?

> > > I do feel that this is probably the only method that is sure to still
> > > work if users get themselves into problems with dependencies and
> > > other methods try to remove half the system.
> > > Maybe document the procedure on a wiki page?

> > I'd rather have it described in the Release Notes, that is what gets
> > shipped off with the CDs, relying on online documentation is not good
> > (unless it's stuff not needed for the upgrade but just "for reference")

> I don't think it is a good idea to fully document two different and 
> partially conflicting methods. My idea was to document it in the wiki and 
> link to that from the RN. However, from a translation viewpoint it may be 
> better to have it in the RN, but then I would suggest an appendix.

Perhaps it would be a good idea, though, to use a wiki page to track this
discussion, so we can see what the current upgrade path suggestions (with
pros/cons) are and can refine them incrementally in response to user
testing?  I know I've had a hard time tracking this discussion. :/

> > > - apt-get install aptitude
> > > - apt-get install gnome (also restores synaptic)

> On a retest gnome was not removed. Not sure if I made a mistake the first 
> time or that anything was different. A bit scary though.

> > Why use apt-get here and not aptitude to install gnome? Isn't it best
> > to recommend the gnome task?

> Because aptitude will want to remove all kinds of packages if you do that 
> (packages previously installed as deps but no longer needed). IMO it 
> would be better to wait until after the reboot to clean that up.

Uhm?  Do I understand that you're suggesting using apt-get instead of
aptitude to *avoid* aptitude's automated handling of packages that one would
want to have removed?  That doesn't make sense to me.

Thanks,
-- 
Steve Langasek                   Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS
Debian Developer                   to set it on, and I can move the world.
vorlon@debian.org                                   http://www.debian.org/



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