yum

[Paul Michael Reilly]

Ahm ed wrote:
> I'm sure we have all heard about yum's "speed" issues, and yes it is 
> annyoing, but fc6 went a long way to try to improve this speed. FC6 also 
> saw yum become even more integrated into fedora (anaconda etc.). And all 
> this development is good, and don't get me wrong I think yum is a 
> fantastic tool with many wonderful features. However it's currently 
> still lacking in some areas.

Indisputable and I'm very glad that you raised the issue.

> 1. The GUI
> pup and pirut are pretty good programs but they are in some ways, a bit 
> restricting. (for lack of a better word). I think that they should have 
> more then just a progress bar. They should also output more information 
> about say, the size of the files. How much (exactly) has been 
> downloaded, and perhaps at what speed the downloads are going.

I used these GUI tools for the first time this weekend and was very 
surprised to see how weak they are.  They offer a tremendous opportunity 
for good hackers with some extra time to make some substantial 
improvements in the RPM experience.  And before the author(s), their 
family, friends or secret admirers take offense, I applaud the fact that 
these tools were created.  The creators of these tools did good.  You 
creators have my thanks.  Most definitely.

> 2. yum CLI
> Yum's CLI is much better than the gui tools at this point, and though it 
...
> 

3. Shared access:  I would like to see multiple processes allowed 
simultaneous access to repositories and the local RPM DB and only 
complain when the second process actually wants to modify the local RPM 
DB.  For example, a User should be allowed to search repos for packages 
while an update is in progress (possibly using a shared library and/or 
cache to increase thoughput).  Or query the local DB while updates are 
in progress.  I could be convinced that a warning should be issued by 
readers when a writer process (one that has begun an 
install/update/erase transaction) is running so take what you get with a 
grain of salt.

And as soon as I have some extra time I'll plunge right in.  Which is 
exactly why I so appreciate those Saints who have made the effort to 
improve the Yum experience for the rest of us.  :-)

-pmr