[Bug 235498] New: Software Management does not handle patterns properly
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=235498 Summary: Software Management does not handle patterns properly Product: openSUSE 10.2 Version: RC 5 Platform: x86 OS/Version: SuSE Other Status: NEW Severity: Normal Priority: P5 - None Component: YaST2 AssignedTo: bnc-team-screening@forge.provo.novell.com ReportedBy: Joseph.Comfort@asu.edu QAContact: jsrain@novell.com Once SuSE 10.2 is installed (which must be done through the patterns system), I want to customize my software, but the Software Management app unnecessarily prevents some actions. In some cases, it will not allow me to delete a rpm package due to a dependency in a pattern -- even if there is in fact no functional dependency in the software. If I then delete the pattern, most of the other rpms are kept but sometimes additional rpms will be deleted. Worse: it will not tell me in advance that it will do so! It will tell me the things it wants to add, but not the ones it chose to remove, without my consent. An example. I don't need EVMS on my system. But it is part of the Base pattern. OK, I chose the option to delete Base. The good thing is that most of the Base rpms are kept. But some others are deleted without telling me. It is tedious and very time consuming to go through the whole list of rpms again and find the ones that got deleted and which I still need (yast2-control-center was one such rpm, as I found out later). There are no problems if those rpms are reinstalled because the dependency was to the pattern and not to other rpms. Another example is the Games pattern, where some of the games in it I don't want. Variations of this problem have been noted in several bug reports. A recent one was for autoyast in bug 232434 and bug 231687. An update has been distributed for autoyast, but that does not fix Software Management. There are also bug 228815, bug 223675, and bug 227379 among others. The idea of patterns has some usefullness, but the implementation is just too rigid and leads to very unnecessary problems and lost time. This report can be marked as a duplicate of others, provided that any resolution of the others also fixes Software Management. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug, or are watching someone who is.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=235498 mhorvath@novell.com changed: What |Removed |Added ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- AssignedTo|bnc-team- |lslezak@novell.com |screening@forge.provo.novell| |.com | Severity|Normal |Enhancement -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug, or are watching someone who is.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=235498 lslezak@novell.com changed: What |Removed |Added ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Status|NEW |NEEDINFO Info Provider| |Joseph.Comfort@asu.edu ------- Comment #1 from lslezak@novell.com 2007-01-18 02:09 MST ------- A pattern defines a set of packages, if any of them is removed a warning is displayed. You can select 'Ignore' from the list and uninstall the package. If you start the package management again there is no conflict. I cannot see any problem there. OK? -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug, or are watching someone who is.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=235498 Joseph.Comfort@asu.edu changed: What |Removed |Added ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Status|NEEDINFO |NEW Info Provider|Joseph.Comfort@asu.edu | ------- Comment #2 from Joseph.Comfort@asu.edu 2007-01-18 12:25 MST ------- I see your point, but I don't think it is sufficient _in practice_. There are 2 kinds of dependencies. One is an actual software dependency where one rpm package will not function unless another one (e.g., a library) is also present. These are critical dependencies. The other is one I would call a "recommended association" as in "If you want this, then you must also have that because it is what I do." Such an association (which limits freedom) might be helpful to someone's productivity, but the system will not fail or crash if it is not used. I am very, very conservative about 'ignore.' It can lead to very unexpected and disastrous results. Because there are now two meanings of dependency, there is no way for me to know which one is relevant for the 'ignore' option. If it is the second meaning, then 'deleting' the package association should break that tie -- provided that nothing else happens or I am informed specificially if it will. As mention above, unexpected things can be and are deleted without notification. If it is the first meaning, it is very unlikely that I would select 'ignore.' So, normally, I ignore 'ignore.' It is too risky, or I would need information at the level of a developer. The point is that ambiguous meanings have now crept in with the introduction (or at least the implementation) of patterns. As witnessed by the many bug reports, it can be and is confusing to people. Clarity during use is necesary. It will save time in having to explain things through bugzilla and mailinglists. Removing the second meaning of dependency would solve most or all of the problems. I think patterns is a useful concept as a higher classification of groups. Groups are narrowly focussed on particular tasks (and, of couse, need to be kept!), while patterns are related to broader working environments. The first meaning of dependency is needed; the second is not. Call it a 'recommended association' or just 'association,' but do not allow the system to treat the two things in the same way. The other problem related to patterns (not part of this bug) was the loss of the import/export feature in Software Management. I can't begin to tell you how annoying and frustrating that has been -- hours and hours spent trying to customize an installation (or, worse, a reinstallation) when a simple ascii file of a list of rpms (no xml needed) could get me close to what I wanted. A major blunder. There is a long-standing bug report, but I cannot see that work is being done on it. I can't imagine what is so hard about it. That alone makes me want to discard the patterns scheme entirely, but I'll be a little happier if we can make progress on the bug reported here. -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug, or are watching someone who is.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=235498 schubi@novell.com changed: What |Removed |Added ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- CC| |ma@novell.com ------- Comment #4 from schubi@novell.com 2007-03-02 04:59 MST ------- Added Michl -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug, or are watching someone who is.
https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=235498 User schubi@novell.com added comment https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=235498#c5 Stefan Schubert <schubi@novell.com> changed: What |Removed |Added ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Status|NEW |RESOLVED Resolution| |FIXED --- Comment #5 from Stefan Schubert <schubi@novell.com> 2008-04-25 08:04:50 MST --- As we are not installing patterns anymore for 11.0 we will not have to delete them. ;-) -- Configure bugmail: https://bugzilla.novell.com/userprefs.cgi?tab=email ------- You are receiving this mail because: ------- You are on the CC list for the bug.
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