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How to present packages (as opposed to end-user applications) in software-center.

The ratio of application vs package is currently 1 to 10, so if we just dump them into the center it will look much like synaptic (just less powerful) for most of the packages shown. Should we even list all non-applications in software-center? Or should we put them in other areas, e.g. Downloads background and font packages under System->Preferences->Appearance->Backgrounds & Fonts

Goal:

• - show all packages

Three overall challenges:

1. appropriate categorization
   • add top level category for most of these packages
     • what would this category be called?
       • "Tech tools"
       • "Packages" - possibly too attractive for people who don't know what packages are
       • "System Packages"
   • with sub-categories for each ubuntu archive section (we have something like 40)
     • icons for each (eg font icon), generic package icon (different from application without icon)
   • a "Wine" department in the Installed Software section, for installed Windows applications
   • sections
     • should create a transition section in the control file for transitional packages with nothing in them
   • we don't have debtags in the Ubuntu archive!
     • talk to Soyuz team about this
2. - how/when non-application packages should appear in search results
   • one idea: non-application packages appear further down the results
   • selectable scope for searches (all packages, graphical applications only)
     • what would we call "graphical applications" if the scope is exposed in the interface?
     • "There are no application results, but there are 2 non-application results"...
   • use case: someone searches for a game, its -data package shows up too
   • use case: someone searches for emerillon, gets no results, because emerillon has no .desktop file
3. how to present individual packages when they do appear
   • Most prominently use their synopsis rather than their name
4. Other ways to present particular classes of non-application packages
   • Screensavers in the Screensaver Preferences
   • Fonts in ... we have no Fonts interface at the moment
     • User has to find a way of opening ~/.fonts
     • Font Viewer has an "Install Font" button, but
     • TODO: Investigate font managers and consider installing one of them by default
   • Panel applets in "Add to Panel" dialog

Other suggestions:

• Have a generic package icon that's distinct from the generic application-without-an-icon icon
• Specialize the generic icons by type (e.g. fonts) or derive the icon from
  • the section

Other issues:

• How to deal with transitional packages?
  • We don't have a good way of identifying which packages are transitional
    • introduce a separate Section for them
      • TODO Find and sectionize all transitional packages
• packages you have installed that are not in the archive
  • either no longer in the archive, or installed manually
    • we don't know which, because we don't track origin
      • maybe dpkg could track this? - it would need to know what it was being called from
        • if it came from our archive, but is no longer there, it's probably obsolete
      • attach a URL to every .deb
    • example: old kernel packages
  • you can remove them, but you can't reinstall them
    • maybe warn about this before removing it
• should search results for "get software" include packages you have that you are to remove?