[packagekit] RFC: Use 5 package states rather than 2 (big break in API)

[Richard Hughes]

On Mon, 2008-11-17 at 14:57 +0100, Duncan Mac-Vicar Prett wrote:
> Richard Hughes wrote:
> > ************************************************************
> > A package_id can be in one of 5 states (one local, 4 remote):
> >
> > installed:  Installed on the local machine
> > available:  Not installed, can be installed
> > replay:     Installed, can re-install from a repo with the same version
> > update:     Lesser version installed than available, can update
> > revert:     Bigger version installed than available, can undo an update
> >   
> You really don't know that a package can be updated until you solve, as
> that another package has greater version does not mean update is
> possible, may be a conflict.

Right, I do see what you mean, but this is in the context of the
add/remove software program, not the get-updates method.

In the installer, you probably want to know that foo is updateable from
0.1.1 to 0.1.2. If the user tries to update, the backend tells them that
0.1.2 conflicts with frobnicator. The user is capable of removing
frobnicator before doing the install, or they can just do the "easy"
thing and update everything using the update viewer.

I don't think displaying a package as "update" means "is able to
update", just that an update is available.

I do understand the problem tho, I just can't see another good way out
of it short of depsolving each package (ouch).

Richard.