[packagekit] Supporting plugins search and installation

[Duncan Mac-Vicar Prett]

On Monday 08 February 2010 19:06:08 Naba Kumar wrote:
> b) Installing missing development packages needed for new projects.
> Clearly, we want the users to be as smooth as possible when he creates
> his first gtk/gnome project (which will require bunch of dev packages
> that don't come with anjuta dep). 
> c) Allow finding and installing packages related to Anjuta, such as
> plugins, templates etc. you can think of the same as additional
> "Cliparts" in open office. These thing don't come with standard
> installation, but something user is required to install separated to
> extend functions. But I don't really want to go about re-inventing
> package management in Anjuta for this, especially in distro
> independent approach. And the closest support we can get is from
> packagekit.

Ok, now I understand, you mean using packagekit to install missing components 
from applications.

> Right now. (a) and (b) are possible. Currently in anjuta (master) we
> use absolute paths to find /usr/bin/program or
> /usr/lib/pkgconfig/library.pc files. It seems to work. I learned that
> it's possible to use relative paths to fine the 'provides' packages
> also, which is great and takes away our assumption of absolute paths.

Yes, this does not work with package management systems which do not have an 
index of files.

I think there is already some work in the area, like to install codecs and 
fonts. But still leak distribution dependent stuff.

Standardizing this would also be useful for stuff like:
http://duncan.mac-vicar.com/blog/archives/347

> (c) is actually just the same case as (a) and (b) (that is finding
> packages from their contents), but done in more flexible way with
> wildcard rather and exact match. I think this is indeed within the
> scrope of packagekit's purpose. If not, please still consider it
> taking in, at least to avoid reinventing packagekit in anjuta :).

Yes, but the world in some usecases is more complex. The example above are 
"all packages that appear as recommended after a solver run done after the 
hardware is plugged and that have supplements(modalias* in their dependencies"

-- 
Duncan Mac-Vicar P. - Novell® Making IT Work As One™
SUSE LINUX Products GmbH, GF: Markus Rex, HRB 16746 (AG Nuernberg)