Re: DEITY TEAM -- REQUEST FOR FUNCTIONALITY and COMMENTS
I like the consept of dselect as it is but som improvments are welcome.
The sugestions is sorted in thre cattegorys: 1) Small improvments to
dselects interface. 2) Bigger new featurs to dselect. 3) New / improved
featurs involving possably changes to the pakage managment system.
Lets start with 1) small improvments to dselects interface...
1.1 The enter key
When the user press ENTER no strange fings must happen. If its a menu, the
higlited item is shosen (as it works now). Some sugestuons for other cases:
ENTER in the package list: pop up a screan describing the pakage curent
status in verbose text at the top. The rest of the pop-up is a menu wher
You can chose wath to do with the pakage. All the pakage status in verbose
(instal, purge, hold, unhold etc). Seperated by a line some options not
conected to the curent package (abort menu, check dependensis and go to
main menu, go to main menu without checking dependensys, abort session
whitout saving changes, show pakage deskription full screan (aborted
whit enter), show pakage filelist in full screen, change
preferenses/view etc).
ENTER in the dependesy resuluton list shold be much the same whit som extra
opten like: abort dependency screen whitout saving shanges made (inkluding
the changes premade by dselect). The view description option above is werry
neded here.
All this option shuld have an accalrator key asigned. It shold also be
presented in an cosistent way in the menus, eg in squar brakets. This will
help newbes bekome DEITY-gurus an fly along...
1.2 Change focus
If the user press TAB Focus shold be moved. In the package list focus is
cycled thru deskripton window (allow scroll of deskription whit cursor keys
and space), some menus att the top of scrern (preferenses, help etc) and the
man package list window. The option to scroll the deskription window with a
accelarator key shold be keept.
1.3 Limited view
When presing enter on the header line the first menu shose shuld be to toggel
the if that group shold pe precented or not. In the begining all sections
shold be closed. This will make it easier to navigate the huge set of debian
pakages.
1.4 Posability to treat recomends as recomends
Or shold I say as sugests. This shose shold be posably to do from the
preferens menu. It's ok (possably best) if the preferenses is reset to some
default when the program is restarted. Changes to the default preferenses
should be posably thru a config file (dotfile).
2) Bigger improvments
2.1 Searched view
A advansed serch screen would be nice. It shuld seartch the pakage names,
descriptions, filelists, possably depenndensis in a powerfull manner. You
may then go to a package list and chose (like usual) among onle those page
maching Your querry. Dependesy resulution most of corse check all pakage.
It would be nice to be able to save the querrys as well....
2.1 Loging / Supressing of mesages
Loging of what dselect have done and any problem wold be nice. Supression of
the famus skipping mesage whold be nice. A preeview what dselect is about to
do wold be nice (a list of packages to install/deinstall/perge). If the
preeview is alreddy sorted in dependency order that wold bbe nice. Dependency
sorting is allredy in the DEITY project? else that is a major sugestion!
2.2 Different default for different distrubutions.
An exampel. DEITY is ponting both att stable and unstabel. I do have a pakage
from stabel in status unhold and want it to be automaticly shosen for
uppgrade if ther is a new version in stabel. But I only want it to upgrade
to unstable if I tell it to. What i want is some mekanism to tell that I want
to know about new stuff from some source and I want to bee able to install it
by selecting it but I dont want to automagicly uppgrade to it......
undurstandable?
3.1 Pree Configure
If a pakage has a PreeConfigure script that shuld be run from DEITY when the
pakage is shosen for install BEFORE the dependensy resolution given the script
a change to resolv the dependensys in a more context avare manner. This will
add posabilatys to maake great meta pakages. This dose not demand that the
config info is stored in the selection database but it be nice to at least
hav a pointer to the config info in the database to make it posibly to
distrubute it automaticly betwen maskines. Posably adding an uninteraktive
option to install making pakages having wrong preeconfiginfo fail insted of
go interaktiv on install (makes it even more possably to make automated
upgrades of several maskines).
3.2 Meta and slave package
Slave pakages is pakages that is normaly not shoved i DEITY selections lists.
if thay are neaded they are chosen automagicaly an if the ar not neaded they
are removed automagicaly. For smal pakages that take no costom configuration
and comes in only one version. It shold be possably thru the preferenses to
make DETIY treat slave pakages just like ordanary pakages.
Meta pakages is pakages that makes it esier to install other pakages with a
higer level interface. The Pree Configure mecanism above make it posably to
make thise pakages graet in funktionality! A novice mode to DEITY shoving
only meta pakages to the user might be good (possably defalt mode?).
3.3 Post Config
Nice if it was posably to reach (from DEITY) some scripts for finnetuning /
reconfigure alreddy installed and conigured pakages (for pakages having
souch scripts).
3.3 Unchanged status and default selections
Making it posably to give a pakage an 'unshanged' status which mens it will
go to another 'default' selection database to fetch that pakages status.
This migt go in arbitray steps making it posably to build a herarchy of
maskines that uses the selection database of the maskin above, but with the
possability of local overides. Should add even more possabilitys for
maintaining a network of debian maskines....
Well... this is enuf for now. I'm working on a C++ Wrapper-classes set for
making it possably to interface different displays/widget-sets from one
source (even line-oriented tty). I don't think I will reach usefullnes result
in time to be an alternativ for Your project :( but pleas inform me/the
world about Your aproatch. Now I gonna look att Andy Mortimers 'Giggel'.....
God Luck /Lars
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