custom package selection

[Chris Ricker]

On Thu, 24 Jul 2003, Jeremy Katz wrote:

> On Thu, 2003-07-24 at 07:44, Chris Ricker wrote:
> > I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the severn installer has been 
> > dumbed down to the point that the only way to get a functional install that 
> > does what I want is to use kickstart
> 
> It's far easier to get the system to a state that works with the
> installer and then allow configuration in a normal environment. 
> Maintaining lots of functionality within the installer is a nitemare for
> debugging -- it's far easier to figure out why things go wrong on the
> installed system.  

In case it wasn't clear, what I posted wasn't meant as a complaint per se,
but more as a suggestion. I like kickstart. I think it's a reasonable
solution to my particular wants. Instead of adding stuff back in an expert
mode, just suggest the use of kickstart as a solution to the "experts want
complexity that blows my parents' minds" problem....

Long-term, I think it makes sense for anaconda to become something 
more along the lines of vaguely either:

1. partition
2. install minimal
3. reboot into firstboot++ for rest of install

or

1. run ksconfig
2. use generated ksconfig for kickstart

But for now, there are shortcomings for my needs with the current anaconda.
Fortunately, kickstart helps....

Something else that I think might help some people. In the group-level
selection in anaconda, many packages have mandatory components. In most
cases, those mandatories should instead be defaults. Doing that change
more-or-less globally brings back more of the flexibility of the individual
pkg selection (hit details for individual deselection of default yes item),
solves some of the problems with the current tools (like the "cant install
mysql w/o postgres" issue or "can't install postfix w/o sendmail" -- though
that might not be fixable by this -- caused by mandatories), and doesn't
really add more complexity (the details buttons are already there.
Presumably those who cant handle them don't hit them, or they'd be gone
too).

later,
chris