Re: [gentoo-user] Re: Project:Installer

Hans <linux@××××××××××××××.au> wrote:

> On 18/07/15 03:25, James wrote:
> >
> >  From [1] we have Project:Installer [2] which looks very
> > interesting. However, If I were to create a new gentoo installer, I
> > think I'd leverage ansible and the persistence mode (usb stick)
> > code that LikeWhoa put together, as a basis for the effort. I'd be
> > most curious to read other folk's ideas (strategies) to create a
> > more automated installation semantic for installing gentoo systems.
> > The handbook is fine; in fact it is great. But, many gentoo users
> > that have performed more than a dozen gentoo installs sooner or
> > later get around to their own installations customizations for a
> > wide variety of valid reasons.
> >
> >
> > Ansible would lend itself to expanded and very targeted types of
> > system installs where an accomplished gentoo user could supplement
> > the base install with a collection of specific packages and config
> > settings; imho. Say for example a secure web or mail server, not
> > that it would be the only way to build such a server, but just one
> > specific method a particular author wanted to (share) publish.
> > Surely there are other and better ideas that folks have used or
> > that they are currently contemplating for routine gentoo installs?
> >
> >
> > Maybe some discussion herein could help shape the efforts of [2,3]?
> >
> >
> > Naturally, we should remember Release Engineering and their role
> > as pivotal [3]. [1 and 2] are interesting to read.
> >
> >
> > James
> >
> > [1] https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Project:Gentoo
> >
> > [2] https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Project:Installer
> >
> > [3] https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Project:RelEng_GRS
> >
> >
> >
> I used to install and look after OpenSuse Desk and Laptops until
> systemd showed it's ugly face. Now I install and look after several
> Gentoo Xfce desktops and 3 OpenSuse Xfce Laptops. I use a Cut & Paste
> script to install Gentoo on Desktops. The only manual parts are
> booting a Gentoo USB stick, modifying hostname, ip address, user
> names and partitioning. When completed. Wen done, log in as user and
> set up email accounts and various eye candy.
>
> OpenSuse install on laptop involves booting of a installation USB
> stick, select Xfce Desktop, manually enter time zone, user name,
> counry, hostname, ip address, Samba, login as user and and set up
> email accounts and various eye candy.
>
> I am to stupid to install and get Gentoo to work on Laptops.
>
> My "dream" would be to have the OpensSuse Yast installer and
> administration gui to install, configure and maintain Gentoo on
> Desktops and Laptops. This should be easy for a programmer whois
> familiar with Ruby and C. The Yast installer and administration gui's
> are nothing more than gui interfaced to various command line
> utilities.

Yast was one of the reasons why I switched from SUSE to gentoo in 2003. 
IIRC one problem with Yast was that it used it's own configuration files 
and not the standard upstream configuration files of the installed 
packages. This sometimes made the manual configuration of packages very 
difficult for me, because the original package documentation refers to 
config files that I could not found on my SUSE system. 
Another caveat was that if one of the Yast config files was altered by 
hand, it was not possible to configure this file with Yast anymore. 

Of course in the beginning of my Linux experience (SuSE 4.2) I was happy 
that there was Yast because I came from OS/2 and it was a nightmare for 
me to configure Linux the first time, even with Yast. Without Yast I maybe 
would not use Linux today.

Maybe Yast is better today, but in the past it was sometimes very 
frustrating.

--
Regards
wabe