[SHELVED] Reorganize bunsen-configs

johnraff · 2024-07-16 06:54:42

bunsen-configs is a large package, in terms of content, with many barely related sections:
*) the bunsenlabs session
*) user config files in skel/ (many things here) and bl-user-setup
*) the bl-alternatives system
*) lightdm configs and icons
*) bugfixes, eg dark themes in Firefox, language selection in lightdm
*) geany colourschemes
*) grub tty session boot item, colour tweaking (part of bunsenlabs session?)
*) mpv configs and bl-mpv wrapper script
*) policykit settings for bl-text-editor, suspend and shutdown
*) enable kernel sysrq
*) BunsenLabs calendar

See also README

I've been wondering if we should split this up into two or three smaller packages to make things easier to maintain? It's also possible there are some users who don't want all of this. (As a general policy BL try to keep things as modular as possible, which is why our packages have more Recommends then hard Depends.)

Right now, there are three packages bunsen-configs, bunsen-configs-lite and bunsen-configs-base, but they are very similar: a few files in skel are slightly different (eg some things aren't autostarted in the lighter versions). The skel/ tree is built up by first installing the default files, then if using -lite or -base the changed files are installed on top, overwiting the default settings. That means installing some files which are not used, but they're all small and do no harm IMO.

The situation gets more complicated when we start to have Wayland variations. In theory we could have Wayland and X11 versions of all three: bunsen-configs, bunsen-configs-lite and bunsen-configs-base, meaning six different packages!

On top of that, we want the Wayland version to be an optional addition to the default X11 session rather than an alternative, so users can install both and choose at boot time.

But we don't want to force users who aren't going to use Wayland - or X11 - to install all the packages for the other system.

Right now the three existing packages b-c, b-c-lite & b-c-base, are configured (with debian Replaces: and Conflicts:) so that only one can be installed at a time. OTOH with the -wayland versions we want to make it possible to install one, the other, or both.

At the same time, we might want to think about package dependencies. For example, should a hypothetical bunsen-configs-wayland-base package depend on a list of packages to make that work (labwc, etc etc) or alternatively should a meta-bunsen-wayland-base metapackage depend on bunsen-configs-wayland-base along with labwc and friends? (Right now I'm thinking maybe the latter.)

Apart from that, maybe we can have a bunsen-configs-core whose contents don't change for any of the above permutations? The different variation addon packages might all turn out to be quite small.

And should eg bunsen-session be a separate package? That might be good for people who want the app settings but want to start up their session in some other way.

OK I've set out the main issues maybe, but anyone with stuff to add, please join in!

I think it can be done, one way or another...

Last edited by johnraff (2024-08-23 06:22:36)

johnraff · 2024-07-22 07:25:24

On reflection, maybe breaking bunsen-configs up into smaller packages can best be shelved for now.

The main reason is that for tidyness it's easier to keep all the files in the same source package, but that means that all the bunsen-configs-subpackages built from it would share the same version number. A small tweak to eg bunsen-configs-obscure would mean a version bump for all the other bunsen-configs-* packages, forcing users to do meaningless upgrades with no package content change. That sounds like more hassle than the tidying up of the large bunsen-configs would be worth.

#1 2024-07-16 06:54:42

[SHELVED] Reorganize bunsen-configs

#2 2024-07-22 07:25:24

Re: [SHELVED] Reorganize bunsen-configs

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