Re: Proposal: Automatic query servicing for dpkg installation scripts

[fog@irfmn.mnegri.it]

Hi Oliver, hi developers,

    I liked your proposal but I think it does not address all
the points required for a question-less install. So here's a
little discussion and then my proposal.

    I think the user should be given 2 options: 1) install
*everything* without a single question using only defaults
(and yes, something won't work but the user can fix things
later); 2) have to answer a lot of questions before even a
single package gets unpacked and then be free to go get a cup
of coffe... (well, a third option is to install as we do now.)

    My proposal is a little more drastic than Oliver's one and
presumes some little modifications to dpkg (argh!) but I think
it's clean and can be made to work in a lot of different cases.

    The first thing is to have every package that requires
config information retrieve it via a central database, just
like the dtxtdb one. The we need another control files (lets
call it "questions") built with a format like the one proposed by
Oliver or just like the config file in the kernel sources.
The questions file gets included in the package, just like
other control files but when the package gets installed on the
debian ftp site, the installer build a Questions.gz file, just
like the Packages.gz one.

    When joe user install a single package dpkg extracts the 
questions file and sets the defaults in the database then, if
required, asks the user the questions and overrides the defaults.
If the user doesn't want questions the defaults are already 
in the database and the install scripts can work without problems.

    When joe user dselect (or apt-izes) a long list of packages
dselect or apt use the Questions.gz file to set the defaults
and then ask the user the questions, before dpkg touches even
a single package. Then the install goes the usual way.

    If we use teh kernel config format we get as a bonus the ability
to build a nice interface for the configuration (see make menuconfig
or make xconfig).

    What do you think about? Ciao,
					    Federico
					     
 


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