ubuntu-desktop metapackage?

[Thom May]

* Matt Zimmerman (mdz at canonical.com) wrote :
> A brief IRC discussion started about this due to ubuntu-sounds.  Currently,
> no one has ubuntu-sounds installed, and it's not entirely appropriate for an
> existing package to depend on it, so users who are upgrading will not get
> the sounds.  This is either a bug or a feature.
> 
> Considering it a bug, there are some possible solutions:
> 
> - Add a script to ubuntu-base, of the sort which would be used as part of
>   the woody->warty upgrade process, which lets the user say "give me the
>   current ubuntu desktop stuff", and does so
> 
> - Create an ubuntu-desktop metapackage which depends on everything in the
>   DesktopSeed, so that when it is upgraded, new packages are installed.
>   This is particularly nice because of the change semantics: if the user
>   removes one of the desktop packages, ubuntu-desktop is uninstalled,
>   and the user's changes are preserved.  So, users who accept the
>   default package selection get new ones automatically, and others
>   are left alone.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 

I like the latter solution - it also allows for clearer instructions when
upgrading from woody. Rather than "aptitude install ~tubuntu-desktop" or
whatever, just "front-end-of-choice install ubuntu-desktop".

Cheers,
-Thom
-- 
That sounds like a lot of work... Can we out source?
The Revolution will not be outsourced!
(Slick/Monique - Sinfest)