Installing specific packages on demand

[Friedrich W. H. Kossebau]

Mardi, le 1 février 2011, à 20:10, Sune Vuorela a écrit:
> On 2011-02-01, Friedrich W. H. Kossebau <kossebau at kde.org> wrote:
> > We can't assume for all, but in many installations the user does. Like
> > the ususal private computer.
> > For administrated systems, there could be a substitute which instead of
> > allowing to install rather aids the user to file a request to the admin,
> > for convenience and getting things done.
> > 
> >> and we shouldn't set up a complete development
> >> environment for him.
> > 
> > I was thinking of interfacing to the normal packaging system of the
> > system. He, something like DrKonqi installing the debug info packages on
> > request. So something like that is existing already, just needs to be
> > generalized perhaps.
> 
> Basically, a piece of software than have three relations:
> 1) Required things
> 2) Optional things that should be availably by default
> 3) optional things that doesn't need to be available by default
> 
> Packagers should assure that 1) is around. Packagers should try hard to
> make 2) available for all not uncommon installations.
> 
> if 1) is missing, file bugs at the distribution.
> if 2) is missing, file bugs at the distribution or alternatively tell
> the user "you broke your system, you get to keep the pieces".
> 
> And then there is the handling of 3).
> 
> Well.. let's not make it a bigger issue than it actually is.

Ah, Sune, guess we were missing each other :) I was talking of currently not 
installed optional things. And not speaking of optional things not existing as 
packages.

E.g. imagine someone installing some program over an expensive/slow connection 
(think mobile). She just installs the required things, to keep the needed 
bandwith low. Then hits a feature which is more useful with some optional 
thing X. Ideally the feature's code would be able to offer the action "Trigger 
install of optional thing X to pimp doing Y".

Does this help to understand what I am looking forward to?

Cheers
Friedrich
-- 
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