May 2010 - openSUSE Features - openSUSE Mailing Lists

[openFATE 306953] yast-GRUB: graphic
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: manuel m (manuel_songokuh) Feature #306953, revision 1 Title: yast-GRUB: graphic openSUSE-11.2: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Important Requested by: manuel m (manuel_songokuh) Description: hello.. i want new grub from yast! i want not change grub from yast but new graphic and little change..i will send you my pictures..but my languange is italian ok? this picture is default of grub from yast opensuse 11.1 64bit (view-source://http//digilander.libero.it/jaoken2/grub-installazione.png) http://digilander.libero.it/jaoken2/grub-installazione.png (view-source://http//digilander.libero.it/jaoken2/grub-installazione.png) this is my idea for new graphic: http://digilander.libero.it/jaoken2/grub-presentaz.png (view-source://http//digilander.libero.it/jaoken2/grub-presentaz.png) this reason..it's for not-espert or neo-user, for not panic during install grub.. now i do an example picture for step-step: http://digilander.libero.it/jaoken2/1-step.png http://digilander.libero.it/jaoken2/2-step.png http://digilander.libero.it/jaoken2/3-step.png http://digilander.libero.it/jaoken2/4-step.png http://digilander.libero.it/jaoken2/5-step.png what do you think about pictures? -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306953

1 6

[openFATE 306971] keep the previous kernel after update process
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Ioan Vancea (IonutVan) Feature #306971, revision 1 Title: keep the previous kernel after update process openSUSE-11.2: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Important Requested by: Ioan Vancea (ionutvan) Description: I would like to see that "feature" implemented default because after kernel updates many times there were a lot of issues and to change back to the previous version is not very easy for a novice user. For example after a kernel update I have problems with encrypted filesystems, or the sound stopped to work, .... Yes, I know that it is possible to change the behaviour to keep the old kernel but why not to be default. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306971

1 5

[openFATE 307114] Add "Upgradable" and "Upgradable (upstream)" filters to YaST Software Management
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Alexander shaduri (alex_sh) Feature #307114, revision 1 Title: Add "Upgradable" and "Upgradable (upstream)" filters to YaST Software Management openSUSE-11.2: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Important Requested by: Alexander shaduri (alex_sh) Description: I used to use Synaptic+apt on openSUSE 10.3. Since upgrading to 11.1 I switched to using YaST for my package management needs. I follow some Build Service repositories, so frequently there are packages to be upgraded. Unfortunately, compared to Synaptic, YaST's package upgrade mechanisms are way too unusable. Synaptic had two simple but very useful features - "Upgradable" and "Upgradable (upstream)" filters. "Upgradable" shows all the packages that have newer versions available. "Upgradable (upstream)" shows packages which have newer upstream versions (that is, it won't show "example-1.0.0-1" => "example-1.0.0-3", but will show "example-1.0.0-1" => "example-1.0.1-1"). This is important since the release version is usually changed on every recompile, and filtering the upgrades by the actual "new version" is more handy. Without these filters I have to basically scroll through ALL installed packages, looking for the "blue-versioned" ones. This is making it simply unusable. Also, adding to the unusability is the "Installed (Available)" column. The last components of the available versions are almost always hidden unless I resize it to a quite large size, and even then, it's very hard to read. Compare it to the following (both versions can be seen easily): http://www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/files/www.freesoftwaremagazine.com/node… Steps to Reproduce: 1. Subscribe to a couple of heavily-populated repositories from Build Service. 2. Try browsing through upgradable packages. openSUSE 11.1 x86_64, YaST QT interface. See also: https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=524000 -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/307114

1 2

[openFATE 306957] Allow ymp (one-click installs) to set the repo priority
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Sven Burmeister (rabauke) Feature #306957, revision 1 Title: Allow ymp (one-click installs) to set the repo priority openSUSE-11.2: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: Sven Burmeister (rabauke) Description: When people use one-click installs to e.g. install or update KDE4, they get a lot of dependency issues because the buildservice repo does not have the right priority, i.e. higher than e.g. the oss or update repository. One-click installs only make sense if they are easy to use and facilitate the process of adding a repo. Having to open YaST software management to adjust the priority manually and re-running the update afterwards is not "one-click". Setting-up a repo includes setting the correct priority. The problem with ymp setting repos' priority is that those are relative to the repos already installed. The best solution would be to read the other repos' priority and suggest priorities for the new repos accordingly. The user can still change them in the one-click GUI. The minimal solution would be to just allow the user to set the repo's priority via the one-click GUI. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306957

1 4

[openFATE 306321] disk id change in fstab
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Jean-Daniel Dodin (jdd_sysop) Feature #306321, revision 1, last change by Title: disk id change in fstab openSUSE-11.2: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Important Requested by: Jean-Daniel Dodin (jdd_sysop) Description: "That basic request is that one or more simple tools be provided to allow a fstab to be automatically converted from /dev/sdaX nomenclature to one of the preferred methods." In other words, its now necessary to use YaST partitionner to change the fstab entry from /dev/sdx to the veeeeeeeeery long disk identification. This is very scary and is now nearly mandatory for updates. So it would be important to have some utility to make only this change in fstab and no other. If possible add the choice to use and set on the fly disk ID. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306321

1 8

[openFATE 307479] YaST Software Manager - Downloading packages & dependencies to specified folders
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Mircea Kitsune (MirceaKitsune) Feature #307479, revision 1 Title: YaST Software Manager - Downloading packages & dependencies to specified folders openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: Mircea Kitsune (mirceakitsune) Partner organization: openSUSE.org Description: The YaST2 Software Manager in OpenSuse 11.1 is not capable of downloading packages and dependencies to chosen folders, rather then installing them. For some users it's important to download .rpms together with their dependencies for that Opensuse version, which is useful for keeping software backups, installing on machines that aren't connected to the internet or redistributing software found in repos. The way I would suggest an implementation is a command in the YaST Software Manager, such as splitting the "Accept" button into two "Install" and "Download" buttons, or a Download option when right-clicking a package in the search list, which then allows the user to browse for a folder and download their selection there. I remember someone saying this might be added in Opensuse 11.2, so please close this if it has already been done. Business case (Partner benefit): openSUSE.org: For some users it's important to download .rpms together with their dependencies for that Opensuse version, which is useful for keeping software backups, installing on machines that aren't connected to the internet or redistributing software found in repos. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/307479

1 1

[New: openFATE 308277] XFCE Desktop
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Alexey Shulenkov (s47) Feature #308277, revision 1 Title: XFCE Desktop openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: Alexey Shulenkov (s47) Description: It would be very good, if openSUSE will have full-ready desktop based on XFCE. In current implementation it`s so discusting, it`s impossible to work out-of-box in fresh installed xfce from cd/dvd. You need a lot of time and knowledge to make it "workable". I don`t like fedora or ubuntu implementation of XFCE desktop (it`s too gnomish), but distro`s like zenwalk (or salix, in example), shows that it could be very comfortable and nice-looking desktop. As i think XFCE is much more balanced between powerfull and features, than gnome or kde. It would be fine alternative for gnome of kde. XFCE is simple and enough DE for work. I couldn`t find any info about live unofficial spin. I knew that was "opensuse 11.0 xfce spin", but now it`s "old" and wasn`t so perfect. Now i work on 11.2RC2 and think if all bugs will be solved, it would be the best openSUSE than ever was. I don`t like gnome, but in Your vision its the best. and i think that if such would be with XFCE, for me it would the best distro that i tried or saw. Thanks for attention. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/308277

1 3

[New: openFATE 308266] nfs-server
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: fsk aio (fasiko) Feature #308266, revision 1 Title: nfs-server openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Important Requested by: fsk aio (fasiko) Description: Add nfs-server package to oss repositories. Actualy only nfs-kernel-server and it's not work in openvz container. It's in openSuse 11.0 but not in 11.1 and 11.2 -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/308266

1 2

[openFATE 307749] MySQL GUI Tools on Opensuse DVD
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Mircea Kitsune (MirceaKitsune) Feature #307749, revision 1 Title: MySQL GUI Tools on Opensuse DVD openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: Mircea Kitsune (mirceakitsune) Partner organization: openSUSE.org Description: For many users of the database, MySQL is very hard to manage without the MySQL GUI tools (especially MySQL Administrator). Although MySQL is included on the Opensuse 11.1 DVD the GUI tools don't appear to be. I suggest including them and all their dependencies on the OpenSuse installation media so they can be easily installed with the distributed MySQL version. The GUI tools can be found at http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/gui-tools/ Business case (Partner benefit): openSUSE.org: The MySQL GUI Tools are an important set of tools for administering MySQL, and in my opinion should be included with MySQL if possible. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/307749

1 1

[openFATE 307505] zypper should list updates by version, not by build version
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: M. S. (FunkyM) Feature #307505, revision 1 Title: zypper should list updates by version, not by build version openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: M. S. (funkym) Partner organization: openSUSE.org Description: If you look at the regular zypper workflow with refreshing, checking out updates and ending up upgrading those, one thing bothers me. Using the "list updates command, zypper shows me every package which has been updated. My fate here is to propose adding some switch to the "list updates" command to only list a package in the "lu" list if the package version increased and ignore build version changes. Test Case: Example: MozillaFirefox full version is 3.5.2-2.1. I don't want it listed in "lu" if the version changed to 3.5.2-3.1, but I care to get it listed if it was 3.5.3-1.1. Use Case: Most of the time it is just the same package, rebuilt by the build service or due to a packager adding some minor change and triggering a rebuild. Thus only the build version of the package increased, not the real package version. As long as my system is stable and I am just upgrading for features of new package versions I read up on the internets, I only care about the updates for packages that changes their package version, regardless if they had been rebuild or not. Business case (Partner benefit): openSUSE.org: This simplifies the use case of checking for real "software" updates on zypper, filtering out the updates that are caused by rebuilds. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/307505

1 2

[openFATE 307824] .jpg & .gif user icons
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Mircea Kitsune (MirceaKitsune) Feature #307824, revision 1 Title: .jpg & .gif user icons openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Neutral Requested by: Mircea Kitsune (mirceakitsune) Description: A small suggestion for a small component. When selecting an user icon under Configure Desktop -> Advanced -> Login Manager (11.1) the only common image format that is supported is .png. It would be nice if .jpg and .gif images could be chosen as login icons too (possibly .bmp if anyone still uses that). http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/7808/shot1w.png -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/307824

1 7

[openFATE 307593] ScreenShots During instalation
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: belal mandurah (belal_mandurah) Feature #307593, revision 1 Title: ScreenShots During instalation openFATE: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: belal mandurah (belal_mandurah) Description: I have some suggestions that i would like to see in the next coming release. During installation and choosing which desktop manager (GNOME,KDE3,KDE4) 1- I would like to see the interface SCREENSHOTS beside the Logo and the description (at least one small screenshot). to help newbie like me to decide which one I choose. 2- Further more, I would like see the option where I can install several desktop managers on the computer. eg(GNOME+KDE3). I know i can do it later in YaST, but some people don't know about it. Also it will save time for people who install more than one desktop manager. I know these suggestions are easy but I think they will make a big difference. These are my thoughts, Thank you. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/307593

1 4

[openFATE 307714] Listaller Inclusion
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: John Thomas (john_tomas) Feature #307714, revision 1 Title: Listaller Inclusion openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: John Thomas (john_tomas) Partner organization: openSUSE.org Description: Default inclusion of Listaller ( http://listaller.nlinux.org/ (http://listaller.nlinux.org/) ) in OpenSuse! Business case (Partner benefit): openSUSE.org: It would make software management a lot easier, specially for newbies! They would feel more at home. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/307714

1 3

[openFATE 307514] cdrecord alternative
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Thomas Peter (lizzarddude) Feature #307514, revision 1 Title: cdrecord alternative openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Important Requested by: Thomas Peter (lizzarddude) Description: Mr. Schillings constant ramblings about how openSuSE and other Linux distributions are violating the Copyright of his License Mixup should lead to development of an non-cdrecord-based alternative. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/307514

1 5

[openFATE 306291] ADD ability to launch YaST modules via SystemSettings
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Stephan Kulow (coolo) Feature #306291, revision 1, last change by Title: ADD ability to launch YaST modules via SystemSettings openSUSE-11.2: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: Paul Lubetsky (vegeek) Description: It would be better and simplier for novice to have only one configuration panel in the system, both for KDE and general System Administration via YaST. Similiar work was done for gnome: now opensuse has an integrated all-in-one control panel there. I propose to add an Administration tab in systemsettings, which would provide launchers for YaST`s system administration tools. Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: Simply open menu: you`ll find there two different launchers for YaST and SystemSettings. Actual Results: Now SystemSettings and YaST aren`t integrated. Expected Results: User want to do some system administration tasks, he/she opens SystemSettings and opens required configuration tool. Something similiar was in SuSE 10.0 with KDE3.4. Relations: - ADD ability to launch YaST modules via SystemSettings (novell/bugzilla/id: 487611) https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=487611 -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306291

1 7

[openFATE 306905] Create simple fallback output when using live CD
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Piotrek Juzwiak (BenderBendingRodriguez) Feature #306905, revision 1 Title: Create simple fallback output when using live CD openSUSE-11.2: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Mandatory Requested by: Piotrek Juzwiak (benderbendingrodriguez) Description: We all know that a live CD is best to test out the distro. We also know that not every piece of hardware will be discovered correctly (mainly graphic card). I was thinking about including a simple output with text like "if the X server failed to start and you see just a black screen then try sax2 -r 0=vesa" on the TTY1 just after initializing the X server. Many people get discouraged by such simple thing or sometimes they don't even know what to do in such cases. This should be very simple to implement and will help A LOT to users new to linux. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306905

1 5

[openFATE 306418] Bluetooth configuration via YaST
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Joop Boonen (worldcitizen) Feature #306418, revision 1, last change by Title: Bluetooth configuration via YaST openSUSE-11.2: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Important openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Important Requested by: Joop Boonen (worldcitizen) Description: Corrently is rather complex for a newbee to configue for instance a gps receiver that is connected via bluetooth. Configure /etc/bluetooth/rfcomm.conf rfcomm bind rfcomm0 start gpsd /dev/rfcomm0 It would be helpful is bleutooth and bluetooth devices could be configured via YaST. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306418

1 7

[openFATE 306634] Grey out services in Yast not installed
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Drew Kwashnak (dragonbite) Feature #306634, revision 1 Title: Grey out services in Yast not installed Buildservice: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable openSUSE-11.2: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Package Wishlist: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: Drew Kwashnak (dragonbite) Description: Yast lists a lot of configuration options, such as in the Network services section, which users may not necessarily use or knows what it does. This is most likely with newer users to Linux and/or those who are not as involved with system/network administration. I am suggesting that if the related service is not installed (like Samba Server for example) then the configuration option in Yast should be greyed out. It gives a visual indicator of what you don't need to worry about configuring while lets you know what is installed and can be configured. Perhaps users clicking on the greyed-out icons can be greeted with a message giving a brief description of what the service does and offers a chance to install it at that point if they are interested. At that point it could drop them into the software manage screen with the required and recommended services filtered in the package list and the required ones to be already checked off so all the user has to do is click to Accept/Install them. Ultimately when I was trying to configure my openSUSE for the network, for which I am still very new to even though I've learned a lot so far, I was confused by all of the choices and ended up making a bigger mess than accomplishing what I was trying to do. PS: This is my frist openFATE entry. If I am going about this incorrectly please let me know. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306634

1 11

[openFATE 306667] Include Ramlog application
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Glenn Doig (doiggl) Feature #306667, revision 1 Title: Include Ramlog application openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: Glenn Doig (doiggl) Description: See article Improve system performance by moving your log files to RAM http://www.linux.com/feature/141231 (http://www.linux.com/feature/141231) http://tofu3.szm.sk/ramlog/ (http://tofu3.szm.sk/ramlog/) (Some info) The Ramlog project lets you keep your system logs in RAM while your machine is running and copies them to disk when you shut down. If you are running a laptop or mobile device with syslog enabled, Ramlog might help you increase your battery life or the life of the flash drive on your mobile device. As a side effect of using Ramlog, you will be less likely to be caught out by a daemon that suddenly starts sending a message to syslog every 30 seconds and saps your battery keeping the hard disk spinning. Rpm: http://tofu3.szm.sk/ramlog/1.1.0/rpm/ramlog-1.1.0-1.noarch.rpm (http://tofu3.szm.sk/ramlog/1.1.0/rpm/ramlog-1.1.0-1.noarch.rpm) Thankyou -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306667

1 3

[openFATE 306655] zypper: new command needed
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Sascha Manns (saigkill) Feature #306655, revision 1 Title: zypper: new command needed openSUSE-11.2: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Important Requested by: Sascha Manns (saigkill) Description: Today my X-System crashed. So i become an Idea. It would be graeat, if we can implement an Function in zypper, who search the whole RPM-Database, and detects Errors with the installed Packages. And if he found Errors, that he connects to the Net and reinstalls the broken Packages. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306655

1 8

[openFATE 306324] Improvements to Failsafe mode
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Rajko Matovic (rajko_m) Feature #306324, revision 1, last change by Title: Improvements to Failsafe mode openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Important Requested by: Rajko Matovic (rajko_m) Description: Currently when kernel fails to load, user can only give up on installing openSUSE. Failsafe mode can help sometimes, but load of kernel parameters can introduce problems later. Knoppix offers alternatives that may work on particular hardware without going trough process of discovery of proper kernel parameters, and it has help pages available right from the boot screen. Both combined make booting possible with very little to no experience in kernel issues. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306324

1 5

[openFATE 306902] Scripts by the users
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Jan Gerrit Marker (JanGerritJose) Feature #306902, revision 1 Title: Scripts by the users openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Neutral Requested by: Jan Gerrit Marker (jangerritjose) Description: There some problems which could be solved easily by shell scripts (like deleting plasma-appletsrc if something is wrong with plasma). But nobody knows it and suddenly there are 10 questions about problems with Plasma in 10 forums which all could be fix by deleting plasma-appletsrc. There could be a webinterface where users could upload their scripts. There would be a description of the actions of the script and the problem, they try to fix. Users could use a YaST module to search for a script which fixes the problem, download it and execute it. There could be a voting system about the scripts: solved the problem fast, not so fast, did something wrong and so on. To ensure that the scripts don't destroy the system there could be two categories: "Tested", "Untested". Trustable openSUSE-Members could move the scripts from "Untestes" to "Tested". Or, if there are a lot of good votes for the script, the script would be moved automatically. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306902

1 3

[openFATE 307376] On-the-fly encrypting/decrypting filesystem
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: Patrick Weimer (smoovn) Feature #307376, revision 1 Title: On-the-fly encrypting/decrypting filesystem openSUSE-11.2: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: Patrick Weimer (smoovn) Description: I'm searching for a on-the-fly encryption for my /home/ partition. Maybe its a good feature for OpenSuSE itself? -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/307376

1 5

[openFATE 306666] Complete remove-install-update with zypper
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 15 Nov '10

15 Nov '10

Feature added by: James Carter (jimc_uclamath) Feature #306666, revision 1 Title: Complete remove-install-update with zypper openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Important Requested by: James Carter (jimc_uclamath) Description: This is a feature request for zypper-1.0.9-0.1.1 in OpenSuSE 11.1. Obviously the improvements would go into a future SuSE release. In my use case, I have 0.5 FTE to spend on system administration of about 120 researchers' workstations and compute nodes running OpenSuSE. My goals involving zypp in order of frequency of occurrence are: apply security patches; install or remove software according to particular research groups' needs; deploy new machines that have no OS on the disc; and upgrade every 18 months to a new distro version. To accomplish these tasks I need to minimize hand labor in package management. What am I trying to accomplish in package management? Software which is not wanted on a machine should be removed if present, and software which is wanted should be installed if absent, plus dependencies, or upgraded to the latest patch version. I suspect that quite a lot of SuSE users, not just me, would like a package management program which could enforce a locally created pattern, automatically removing, adding and updating packages as needed. Back in SuSE 8.2, rug and zypper/libzypp being in the future, I wrote a perl script to make these goals happen. When zypper first came out I investigated it but found it lacking; the lack of a "dry run" (-D) switch precluded testing. But now with the 64bit x86_64 architecture, and with dependencies involving components and version relations, my script is not flexible enough. I again investigated zypper. With the features now present, specifically the -D (dry run) switch, zypper can now do part of my job if shepherded by a lot of supporting scripting. I would like to list features which would make it useful for the whole job. 1) In rare but important cases we need to blacklist or "hold back" updates. Debian has this feature, and even Microsoft Windows can do it. 2) Zypper should have a "negative removal" mode, that is, rather than listing all the packages you want to remove, you list all the packages you want to keep. Zypper will add all their dependencies, and the non-listed packages (including their exclusive dependencies) will be removed. (My new script uses kludge techniques with rpm, not zypper, to do this calculation, but it's hard and time-consuming, 0.125 second per installed package, to deal with dependencies.) 3) Zypper should have an option to be silent about packages already installed. In other words, you list all the packages you want on the machine, and it installs the missing ones, if any. My new script excludes installed packages from the list of wanted packages before feeding the remainder to zypper, but zypper internally could do this much more neatly. 4) I assume that if I take a back-version machine and trick zypper into orienting on a new distro version, it will recognize that a new version is available for every package and take action accordingly. The distro version (and architecture: changing i586 to x86_64) should be selectable on the command line. 5) The YaST installer downloads a package, then installs it, then repeats. (Or perhaps downloading and installation are smartly overlapped.) Zypper should do the same thing, not requiring disc space for every affected package at the same time. To check that all packages can be downloaded, it can do HEAD requests at the start. There should also be a command line option to not be anally retentive about missing packages: if a transient failure prevents downloading, always retry the package (and those requiring it) later, and if the failure is permanent, install as much as you can, don't die on the spot like zypper presently does. 6) Zypper should install packages in dependency order, so if a failure interrupts the process the machine has no missing dependencies, even if wanted packages are missing. I don't know if zypper already does this. The YaST installer, which I assume is based on libzypp, is seen to install aaa_base kind of in the middle of the set of packages, which leads me to bring up this point. 7) Zypper should have options to remove, install or replace packages itself like it does now, but it should also be able to emit a list or table of affected packages that can be postprocessed before installation or removal. For removal this would be package full names; for installation it would be URLs in the repositories (with an option for plain file names instead of file:/// URLs); for updates both items are needed. It would help in a lot of postprocessing situations if you could optionally ask for the package basenames to be prepended as another field; e.g. if the full name is "zypper-1.0.9-0.1.1" the basename is "zypper". Also helpful in setting up the list of wanted packages would be a separate table of dependency relations, e.g. when the output says "AA BB" it means that package AA is required by package BB. Machine readable format is important; you might make an option to pick tabular output or English texts. In my new script to get dependencies I do "rpm -e --test $pkg" and then parse the English output, which is a crock, takes a lot of time, and is unreliable if you ever "improve" the texts. 8) Wherever a list of thousands of packages or URLs can appear on the command line, zypper should also be able to read these from a file. If either kind of list turns up with zero packages, zypper should shut up and install each of them, same as if one or more packages are on the list. 9) Likely zypper already determines the product, version and architecture from /etc/SuSE-release, but there are so many variants of the first line that it's a crock to parse it. Presently you give "VERSION = 11.1" in the second line (with blanks); I would suggest also giving the PRODUCT and ARCH, and without blanks so in a shell script one can do eval `grep '=' /etc/SuSE-release` rather than dumbly using "tr" to make the blanks go away. 10) Likely it is possible to use the Python binding of libzypp to easily write a wrapper script that easily does all of the above requests. (I prefer Perl; can we have that language binding also?) However, I was not able to find documentation to even get started, i.e. to specify the repositories and a list of packages. So my new script reeks of kludges and fails to use zypper (libzypp) for the most important steps. My final request is for documentation on libzypp that I can use for projects of this kind. Related FATE tickets: * 300758 (../300758) : Show orphan packages (rejected in v11.1). Also 306627 (../306627) , a duplicate with a better use case description. * 302159 (../302159) : Only download packages (rejected in v11.1). Just give me the list of URLs; I'll download them on my home DSL connection, distribute on the home net, and then do rpm -F *.rpm. * 305634 (../305634) : Distro version upgrade from the command line using zypper. Hear, hear! My old script could do this. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/306666

1 1

[New: openFATE 308466] kbasic
by fate_noreply＠suse.de 12 Nov '10

12 Nov '10

Feature added by: Lee Matheson (oldcpu) Feature #308466, revision 1 Title: kbasic openSUSE-11.3: Unconfirmed Priority Requester: Desirable Requested by: Lee Matheson (oldcpu) Description: KBasic is a programming language which is simply intuitive and easy to learn. It is a new programming language, a further BASIC dialect and is related to VB.NET™, Visual Basic®, Visual Basic for Application® and Java™. It combines many features of those tools and comes with built-in backward support for those tools and QBasic® as it is 100% syntax compatible to VB6, VBA and QBasic®. A big advantage is its reasonably similar look/feel will mean users migrating to openSUSE Linux from MS-Windows will be more at home with a programming language reasonably similar to what they are used to. -- openSUSE Feature: https://features.opensuse.org/308466

1 9