Comps additions/changes for https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/ReworkPackageGroups - spins - Fedora mailing-lists

7 Aug 2012


      This is an annoucement/description for what's going to change in comps for:
    https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Features/ReworkPackageGroups
As you've noticed, the package selection screen has changed in anaconda -
there is a list of choices to install on the left pane, and a list of
options in the right pane. We want to describe these choices in comps. Here
is how.
The choices on the left side are called 'environments'. They are defined
in comps like so:
<environment>
    <id>gnome-desktop</id>
    <name>GNOME Desktop</name>
    <description>GNOME is a desktop.</description>
    <display_order>10</display_order>
    <grouplist>
        <groupid>base-x</groupid>
        <groupid>base</groupid>
        <groupid>core</groupid>
        <groupid>fonts</groupid>
        <groupid>input-methods</groupid>
        <groupid>admin-tools</groupid>
        <groupid>dial-up</groupid>
        <groupid>hardware-support</groupid>
        <groupid>printing</groupid>
        <groupid>graphical-internet</groupid>
        <groupid>gnome-desktop</groupid>
    </grouplist>
    <optionlist>
        <groupid>sound-and-video</groupid>
        <groupid>office</groupid>
        <groupid>eclipse</groupid>
        <groupid>games</groupid>
        <groupid>design-suite</groupid>
        <groupid>electronic-lab</groupid>
    </optionlist>
  </environment>
Each environment has a grouplist that lists the groups that make up this
enviroment - these are the required groups that will be installed if you
select this environment. It also has a list of options for that environment,
which are also groups in comps. Note that these groups do not need to have
optional packages; there is no individual package selection in anaconda.
Whenever an environment is selected in anaconda in the left pane, the right
pane will be populated with:
- the list of options for that environment in comps
- any other user-visible groups in comps
The latter is for compatibility with add-on repoitoriess that exist now.
All the component groups of environments, and groups available as options,
will be able to be installed with kickstart and/or yum post-install via @<name>
syntax. Future work may be done in yum/kickstart to allow specifying
environments directly.
Patches are available for yum and anaconda for handling this; they should be
built in the near future.
What's left to change:
- Addition/modification of groups in comps for enviroments/options
- Addition of environment metadata in comps
- (Potentially) removal of obsolete groups
- (Potentially) changes of spin-kickstarts to refer to the new groups
An example of the comps additions, with a few environments defined, is
attached. These environments were based off of the live kickstarts.
Bill