KubuntuGrubconfig

Revision 2 as of 2006-10-28 14:52:58

Clear message

Please check the status of this specification in Launchpad before editing it. If it is Approved, contact the Assignee or another knowledgeable person before making changes.

Summary

There should be a configuration tool accessible from System Settings that will allow the user to modify the /boot/grub/menu.lst options, therefore eliminating the need to edit this file manually (and studying documentation about it). It should also provide basic theme management for GRUB.

Rationale

A novice user or a non-English user should have the tools to set up the GRUB menu easily.

Use cases

  • Walter is a new Kubuntu user. He wants to add a nice theme to the boot menu and also change the timeout. He looks for the configuration tool in K menu -> System Settings.

  • John is a new Kubuntu user but he also has another OS installed in his computer. He wants to change the boot order so that the other OS is second in the menu.
  • Bronislav is a Kubuntu user from a non-English speaking country. He doesn't understand the descriptions in the /boot/grub/menu.lst file and he is also not sure what the options mean. He expects to edit the GRUB menu is his own language.

Scope

  • This specification deals only with the Kubuntu/KDE configuration tool. There is no information known about making a GNOME/Ubuntu counterpart. The decision about inclusion of GRUB themes in Kubuntu will be left completely up to the artwork team.

Design

Implementation

Code

Data preservation and migration

  • The implementation must not require any special changes in the default /boot/grub/menu.lst file or any other GRUB configuration file.

Unresolved issues

  • Although it is not a serious issue for the implementation, GRUB Legacy cannot be internationalized at this stage. To solve this, either move to GRUB 2 as soon as possible or backport the feature from GRUB 2 to Legacy.

BoF agenda and discussion

  • There is still room for discussion and for extensions, e.g. :
    • Whether it is possible to write a helper application/script that can recognize systems where GRUB themes couldn't be applied (or leave that completely to the user).
    • Whether to include some basic GRUB themes with Kubuntu.
      • If both of those can be implemented: Whether to include a default GRUB theme on systems where it is possible.
    • We could share code with the GNOME counterpart if there was any - discuss it with Ubuntu developers.


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