Queue Package (Un)Installs When PackageKit's Busy

Sat Oct 03, 2009 2:09 pm

Why:
You've just gone to install/uninstall a package and you realise that PackageKit is still downloading your last update... Do you try to remember to come back later? Do you stop it in mid download / configure, add your new package, wait for it to download and configure, then go back and do the same for the packages you were downloading before? Do you forget the first update was running and get a nasty message saying you can't do anything because there's a lock on dpkg? Heaven forbid KPackageKit crashes and you're locked out unless you know enough commandline-fu to know how to get super user priveledges and delete the correct hidden system file before you can do *anything*!

What:
In the age of multitasking and multithreading, stopping a user from doing anything because the software can only do one thing at a time is silly. Does Amarok make you wait for the current song to finish before choosing the next one? Of course not! They us a playlist, so you can choose what you want whenever you want. If I'm downloading / installing a big update in KPackageKit, I should still be able to queue up packages to download and install *while* KPackageKit completes it's current job, just as easily as requesting any other install. And it's all pretty simple really:

How:
If there is a .lock file, instead of just locking the user out, save all install / remove requests to a "queue file" on the hard drive. When the current job is finished, process the next item on the queue. If there is no job active, and nothing in the queue, remove the .lock file. This way, all users get convenience of "package management anytime" and crashes don't leave us locked out. When KPackageKit (or even KDE) started it would either see there was a queue and continue it, or see it was empty and remove the .lock.

Basically it's like a playlist for your package management, that also helps keep you from getting locked out on a crash.

Vote +1 If you'd rather be able to manage your packages anytime and avoid getting locked out.

Kubuntiac Registered Member Posts 786 Karma 2	Queue Package (Un)Installs When PackageKit's Busy Sat Oct 03, 2009 2:09 pm Why: You've just gone to install/uninstall a package and you realise that PackageKit is still downloading your last update... Do you try to remember to come back later? Do you stop it in mid download / configure, add your new package, wait for it to download and configure, then go back and do the same for the packages you were downloading before? Do you forget the first update was running and get a nasty message saying you can't do anything because there's a lock on dpkg? Heaven forbid KPackageKit crashes and you're locked out unless you know enough commandline-fu to know how to get super user priveledges and delete the correct hidden system file before you can do anything! What: In the age of multitasking and multithreading, stopping a user from doing anything because the software can only do one thing at a time is silly. Does Amarok make you wait for the current song to finish before choosing the next one? Of course not! They us a playlist, so you can choose what you want whenever you want. If I'm downloading / installing a big update in KPackageKit, I should still be able to queue up packages to download and install while KPackageKit completes it's current job, just as easily as requesting any other install. And it's all pretty simple really: How: If there is a .lock file, instead of just locking the user out, save all install / remove requests to a "queue file" on the hard drive. When the current job is finished, process the next item on the queue. If there is no job active, and nothing in the queue, remove the .lock file. This way, all users get convenience of "package management anytime" and crashes don't leave us locked out. When KPackageKit (or even KDE) started it would either see there was a queue and continue it, or see it was empty and remove the .lock. Basically it's like a playlist for your package management, that also helps keep you from getting locked out on a crash. Vote +1 If you'd rather be able to manage your packages anytime and avoid getting locked out.
TheBlackCat Registered Member Posts 2945 Karma 8 OS	Queue Package (Un)Installs When PackageKit's Busy Sun Oct 04, 2009 4:10 am KDE doesn't develop packagekit, it just provides a front-end for the generic packagekit backend. Please submit this idea to the packagekit developers. Man is the lowest-cost, 150-pound, nonlinear, all-purpose computer system which can be mass-produced by unskilled labor. -NASA in 1965
Kubuntiac Registered Member Posts 786 Karma 2	Queue Package (Un)Installs When PackageKit's Busy Sun Oct 04, 2009 6:04 pm But we give the instructions to packagekit and we know when it finishes... so surely we could do this, just as we did the front end. I suspect the packagekit devs would just say something similar "hey we just install what you ask us to install. If you want a list of things installed you'd better develop that list."