Bug#261767: apt: dist-upgrade inability to finish an unwanted feature
Package: apt
Version: 0.5.4
Severity: normal
-- System Information
Debian Release: 3.0
Architecture: i386
Kernel: Linux link 2.4.20-mm #1 Tue Feb 24 17:47:00 EST 2004 i586
Locale: LANG=C, LC_CTYPE=C
Versions of packages apt depends on:
ii libc6 2.2.5-11.2 GNU C Library: Shared libraries an
ii libstdc++2.10-glibc2.2 1:2.95.4-11woody1 The GNU stdc++ library
Hi,
As if everyone hasn't noticed ;)
I think most users which want a "dist-upgrade" that finishes without a
bewildering number of confusing messages and problems they do not yet
know how to solve. And I think there are pleanty of ways to do it.
I'm NOT saying FIX ALL APT ISSUES.
What I'm suggesting is that a long overdue conclusion is: apt will never be
perfect. Users don't want to babysit the prompt during upgrade.
So why not change the goals of apt - which is easily done.
It would be better if it was an option to allow stopping at errors, as opposed
to frequently stopping with a message that instructs one how to continue, as
a default mode of operation.
That is - apt tells you what you need to do to continue install: Why not
just DO IT. Sure, advanced users might take exception to this. But since
they are advanced they will quickly find the new option to start the upgrade
with so they can minutely deal with continuing the [dist] upgrade.
It would be FAR better if the packages were installed in a smarter order.
Base, user libs, apps. And in fact, it wouldn't be bad if an awk script
rewrote all Depends fields in the Packages to list dependancies in that
same order...
...
And the reason why is if I do have to babysit an installing computer I'd rather
get all the supprises at the end of the installation instead of having them
spread out evenly throughout the whole thing. Otherwise, the installation
stops and waits for me to get back, causing each computer to take hours to
finish.
Personally, I consider myself advanced and I wish [dist] upgrade would just
reinstall all newer packages quickly - so I can more quickly get on with
fixing what doesn't work after wards - which is a continual process.
APT-HOWTO should be updated to show new users how to "pump" the prompt with
the right strings to keep the upgrade going until it finishes. I looked
there during upgrade and it was really no help.
It would also be better (though this is extra work) if apt kept track of
problems in a list that could be tackled, one at a time, later. dselect
does do this, per say, but a menu item bringing up all packages with abnormal
status would be nice.
WAIT!! last but not least, there should be a feature which records answers
to install questions in lib/dpkg/info. Why? So that if they are made
present on another upgrading computer they can be automatically used on a
package name basis for [more - complete if carefull] automated installation.
Thanks,
John D. Hendrickson
jdh@hend.net
johndhendrickson22124@yahoo.com
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