Ubuntu Wiki

• Launchpad Entry: https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+spec/gst-to-umbrella

• Created: Thu, 08 Jun 2006 11:38:33 +0200 by DanielHolbach

• Contributors: MichaelVogt, SebastienBacher, ManuCornet

• Packages affected: gnome-system-tools, system-tools-backends, liboobs

Summary

The ["DesktopTeam"] is looking for a solution to the problems we're facing with the current gnome-system-tools.

• the code has grown over a long time.
• the languages of choice don't make debugging easier:
  • C for the frontends
  • Perl for the backends
• It would be preferrable to re-use existing tools like adduser, pppoeconf and the like and control them via nice and easy interfaces.

Rationale

The ["DesktopTeam"] feels this step is necessary, because

• graphical system tools are very important to new users
• the choice of infrastructure is very hard to maintain (perl for the backends, C for the frontends) and grew (a bit wildly) over the time,
• upstream and distro maintenance is not satisfactory, we have many grave and weird bugs.

  • [https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/gnome-system-tools/+bugs gnome-system-tools (Ubuntu) bugs], [https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+source/system-tools-backends/+bugs system-tools-backends (Ubuntu) bugs]

  • [http://bugzilla.gnome.org/buglist.cgi?query_format=advanced&short_desc_type=allwordssubstr&short_desc=&product=gnome-system-tools&long_desc_type=substring&long_desc=&status_whiteboard_type=allwordssubstr&status_whiteboard=&keywords_type=allwords&keywords=&bug_status=UNCONFIRMED&bug_status=NEW&bug_status=ASSIGNED&bug_status=REOPENED&bug_status=NEEDINFO&emailassigned_to1=1&emailtype1=substring&email1=&emailassigned_to2=1&emailreporter2=1&emailqa_contact2=1&emailcc2=1&emailtype2=substring&email2=&bugidtype=include&bug_id=&chfieldfrom=&chfieldto=Now&chfieldvalue=&cmdtype=doit&order=Reuse+same+sort+as+last+time&field0-0-0=noop&type0-0-0=noop&value0-0-0= (upstream) bugs]

  • the existing packages are heavily patched.

Use cases

My mother tries to change her password through the users-admin. After confirming the dialog and rebooting the box she can't login any more.

Michael wants to package a new upstream release. He spends seven hours on merging our existing patches.

Tollef is called for assistance on a weird amd64 bug. Although being an expert, it takes him six hours to find the cause in a weird, self-written crypt() function.

Susan needs to configure some accessibility tools but is confused by they way they are spread over many locations (Apllications menu, System AT config, Keyboard settings).

Scope

Design

Implementation

1. Look into other System Tools.

2. The ["DesktopTeam"] could gradually try to extend system tools with new pygtk based frontends and new python based backends using the glue that liboops offers. The first step could involve to use SimpleGladeApp to be able to re-use the existing interfaces. ["ManuCornet"]'s ["ServicesAdminRedesign"] considerations will be taken into account. (We'd already have a Codename for the project: Umbrella (The name Umbrella was chosen by picking a random word from Finnegans wake. Apart from that it contains the Ubuntu-'u' and can be understood as an umbrella project shipping a set of system tools.

3. A common python-based configuration tool for all the accessibility tools has already been [:Accessibility/Specs/CommonATConfig:proposed]. The Orca gteam is following this approach with their config system as will [:Accessibility/Specs/SOK:SOK] and [:Accessibility/Specs/compiz-mag:compiz-mag].

Code

Data preservation and migration

We will continue on shipping gnome-system-tools and its infrastructure in edgy - this will make it easy to pedal back, if we need to.

Outstanding issues

BoF agenda and discussion

CategorySpec