[Bug 1430893] Re: [FFe] Install Fcitx for Chinese users

[Iain Lane]

We just discussed this on #ubuntu-desktop - I think this is the plan

 - Add fcitx & friends to 'live' seed (dropping ibus-pinyin & others at the same time), so that it's installed in the live session (it needs to be started up before the session starts) but not in the target by default.
 - Add it to pkg_depends of language-selector (per #1431337), so that check-language-support -l zh_CN returns fcitx packages.
   + This will cause the installer to keep fcitx only when the selected language is Chinese, and remove it otherwise.
   + In installed systems, language-selector will prompt to install fcitx.
 - If necessary (not sure if it is), fix language-selector to select fcitx as IM for Chinese when there is no pre-existing configuration.
   + We don't try to change .xinputrc for existing users.

To test this effectively, we have to do the seed change - the rest can
be done locally.

Not acking the FFe yet, but please (temporarily for now) go ahead with
the above seed change.

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1430893

Title:
  [FFe] Install Fcitx for Chinese users

Status in im-config package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in language-selector package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in ubuntu-meta package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed

Bug description:
  There are currently two main supported input method frameworks
  available for CJK users: IBus (current default) and Fcitx. Both are
  mature projects, but Fcitx is better suited to Chinese users than IBus
  is, and is already the default in Ubuntu Kylin. IBus is increasingly
  moving in the direction of removing features upstream like tracking
  input state on a per-context basis. Also, the leading input method
  provider in China with more than 300 million users, Sogou, only
  supports Fcitx under Linux. Skinning support is non-existent in IBus.

  We've added support for Fcitx on the same level as IBus in Unity, so
  this FFe is a proposal to make Fcitx the default for Chinese locales
  this cycle, as a transition towards making Fcitx the default for all
  users next cycle. The changes should simply be seeding Fcitx and its
  related packages on the CD image, as well as possible changes to im-
  config. Those who have explicitly selected IBus as their chosen input
  method should be unaffected; these changes will only affect new users,
  and users who have never explicitly chosen an input method framework
  in their language settings.

  Also, this FFe propose to make language-selector to install more input
  method packages for Chinese users to their Fcitx equivalents
  (currently IBus) when adding/completing Chinese language support.

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