blends/talk/khammam/index.html



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<div class="slide titlepage">
  <h1 class="title">Debian Pure Blends</h1>
  <p class="author">
Jonas Smedegaard
  </p>
  <p class="date">Khammam, October 20th, 2011</p>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="overview">Overview</h1>
<ul>
<li>Debian is generic - Blends are specific</li>
<li>Purity: all is Debian</li>
<li>Why bother?</li>
<li>Technical details</li>
<li>Team, community, users</li>
<li>Future</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian---the-universal-operating-system">Debian - the universal Operating System</h1>
<ul>
<li>Stable</li>
<li>Flexible</li>
</ul>
<p>Debian is the universal Operating System.</p>
<dl>
<dt>Goal</dt>
<dd>Usable everywhere
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian---very-flexible...">Debian - very flexible...</h1>
<ul class="incremental">
<li>Flexible: good</li>
<li>Very flexible: very good</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian---too-flexible">Debian - <strong>too</strong> flexible!</h1>
<ul>
<li>Flexible: good</li>
<li><span style="text-decoration: line-through;">Very flexible: very good</span></li>
<li>Very flexible: very confusing!</li>
</ul>
<p>Debian is too flexible: confusing and to some even scary!</p>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian---ways-to-simplify">Debian - ways to simplify</h1>
<ol style="list-style-type: decimal">
<li>Keep things as-is - educate users instead</li>
<li>Remove choice</li>
<li>Provide multiple defaults</li>
</ol>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian---simple-if-generic-defaults-are-ok">Debian - simple if generic defaults are ok</h1>
<ul>
<li>Mainstream (but not too new) hardware</li>
<li>GNOME desktop</li>
<li>Iceweasel web browser</li>
<li>Exim MTA</li>
<li>Apache web server</li>
<li>MySQL database server</li>
</ul>
<p>Debian <em>is</em> simple - if you happen to like its defaults.</p>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian-pure-blend---debian-for-a-specific-purpose">Debian Pure Blend - Debian for a specific purpose</h1>
<p>Debian Pure Blend (in short DDD): a subset of Debian configured to support a particular target group out-of-the-box.</p>
<dl>
<dt>Goal 1</dt>
<dd>Turn Debian into the distribution of choice for a specific target group
</dd>
<dt>Goal 2</dt>
<dd>Advertise this fact to the world to attract users and developers
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian-pure-blend---technical-parts">Debian Pure Blend - technical parts</h1>
<ul>
<li>package selection(s)</li>
<li>customizations</li>
</ul>
<p>The concrete work to include as packages with official Debian.</p>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian-pure-blend---reality-parts">Debian Pure Blend - reality parts</h1>
<ul>
<li>goals &amp; noise about progress</li>
<li>package health + encourage additional software packaging</li>
<li>passion &amp; patience</li>
<li>good relations with Debian package maintainers, competitors, and upstream authors</li>
<li>good relations with users</li>
</ul>
<p>Surrounding work making a Blend relevant.</p>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian-pure-blend---current-blending-projects">Debian Pure Blend - current blending projects</h1>
<ul>
<li>Debian Jr</li>
<li>Debian Med</li>
<li>Debian Edu</li>
<li>Debian Science</li>
<li>Debian EzGo</li>
<li>BrDesktop</li>
<li>Debian Accessibility</li>
<li>Debian Lex</li>
<li>DebiChem</li>
<li>Debian GIS</li>
<li>Debian Multimedia</li>
</ul>
<p>Projects working on Blends - some pure, some not (yet)...</p>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian-pure-blends---all-debian">Debian Pure Blends - all Debian</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>D</strong>ebian packages - selections (e.g. for tasksel to pick up)</li>
<li><strong>D</strong>ebian configuration - use of policy-compliant package-provided interfaces</li>
<li><strong>D</strong>ebian distribution media - installing via Debian itself</li>
</ul>
<dl>
<dt>DDD</dt>
<dd><strong>Debian</strong> packages <strong>Debian</strong> configured from <strong>Debian</strong> distribution
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian-pure-blends---why-bother">Debian Pure Blends - why bother?</h1>
<p>Nice on paper with ideals and priciples, but...</p>
<p>What's in it for me?!?</p>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian-pure-blends---downsides">Debian Pure Blends - downsides</h1>
<ul>
<li><strong>annoying</strong> - Debian package maintainers may not like proposed changes</li>
<li><strong>slow</strong> - stable distribution is released infrequently</li>
<li><strong>rigid</strong> - all contributions must match Debian Free Software Guidelines</li>
<li><strong>complex</strong> - packages must obey Debian Policy</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian-pure-blends---benefits">Debian Pure Blends - Benefits</h1>
<ul>
<li>backed by Debian - help, bug tracking, translations, etc.</li>
<li>teamwork - others might help you refine and maintain your setups</li>
<li>common structures - others might take over if you loose interest</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---debian-support-overloading-choices">Tech - Debian support overloading choices</h1>
<ul>
<li>Debian installer</li>
<li>tasksel</li>
<li>debconf</li>
<li>aptitude</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---examples-of-non-pure-blending">Tech - examples of non-pure blending</h1>
<ul>
<li>include non-Debian packages or non-packaged stuff</li>
<li>include Debian packages from different Debian suite</li>
<li>configure system other than via Debian package installation</li>
<li>install using non-Debian media</li>
</ul>
<p>You don't own your system - you provide one for others to own.</p>
<p>So don't refine it like a (sloppy) user: Handle it like a Debian developer!</p>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---debian-generic-setup">Tech - Debian, generic setup</h1>
<ul>
<li>select package profile(s)</li>
<li>install</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---debian-hand-tuned">Tech - Debian, hand-tuned</h1>
<ul>
<li>select package profile(s)</li>
<li>select additional packages</li>
<li>install</li>
<li>(re)configure packages</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---debian-auto-tuned">Tech - Debian, auto-tuned</h1>
<ul>
<li>pre-seed package selection</li>
<li>pre-seed package configurations</li>
<li>install</li>
<li>(re)configure non-debconf packages</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---debian-pure-blend-generic">Tech - Debian Pure Blend = generic</h1>
<ul>
<li>select blend profile</li>
<li>install</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---tasks-involved">Tech - tasks involved</h1>
<ul>
<li>extra software → into Debian officially</li>
<li>manual configurations → preseeding</li>
<li>maybe create temporary dirty hacks</li>
<li>maybe use/create reusable tweaks</li>
<li>eliminate dirty hacks and tweaks</li>
<li>convince others in Debian to add as tasksel task</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---blends-dev">Tech - blends-dev</h1>
<p>Tool to help maintain package lists and prospective packages.</p>
<p>Example: <a href="http://debian-med.alioth.debian.org/tasks/psychology"><code class="url">http://debian-med.alioth.debian.org/tasks/psychology</code></a></p>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---dirty-tricks">Tech - dirty tricks</h1>
<p>Avoid configuration files...</p>
<ul>
<li>config.d folders</li>
<li>databases</li>
<li>networked data</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---tweaks">Tech - tweaks</h1>
<p>Reusable scripts compatible with one or more of...</p>
<ul>
<li>FAI</li>
<li>hands-off at http://hands.com/d-i/</li>
<li>CFengine</li>
<li>Puppet</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---good-style">Tech - good style</h1>
<ul>
<li>Aptitude</li>
<li>debconf</li>
<li>Config::Model</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="tech---when-is-it-pure">Tech - When is it &quot;Pure&quot;?</h1>
<p>When all is in Debian, with no dirty tricks:</p>
<ul>
<li>package selection(s)</li>
<li>customizations</li>
<li>installation</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="team---getting-involved">Team - getting involved</h1>
<ul>
<li>identify and isolate tweaks at your own system</li>
<li>register missing software - on wiki page or (better!) in Debian BTS</li>
<li>write documentation</li>
<li>write the dream of how things ought to work</li>
<li>wite how details work now</li>
<li>discuss downstream (i.e. with users and subdistros) how things work / should work</li>
<li>discuss upstream (i.e. with authors) what is possible now / soon</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="team---getting-involved-ii">Team - getting involved II</h1>
<ul>
<li>write intro for peer enthusiasts</li>
<li>decide and document ideal formats - translations, graphics etc.</li>
<li>prioritize pending tasks - of various kinds to encourage many different contributions</li>
<li>document where it is ok to ask beginners' questions</li>
<li>document if beginners can ask for a mentor</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="team---getting-involved-iii">Team - getting involved III</h1>
<ul>
<li>make illustration</li>
<li>make screendumps</li>
<li>make fan graphics</li>
<li>make desktop backgrounds, CD covers, stickers, etc.</li>
<li>Register the project as a DOAP file, and maybe at Ohloh and Freshmeat etc.</li>
<li>Register and maintain relevant Debtags</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="team---getting-involved-iv">Team - getting involved IV</h1>
<ul>
<li>Translate package descriptions</li>
<li>Translate debconf dialogs</li>
<li>Translate upstream code</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="team---getting-involved-v">Team - getting involved V</h1>
<ul>
<li>Help integrate contributions from graphics artists, translators and others</li>
<li>document decision processes of the team (and Debian and upstreams?)</li>
<li>document workflows in teams</li>
<li>insist on transparency - not only for code!</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="team---continuous-status-checks">Team - Continuous status checks</h1>
<ul>
<li>Ask users about their needs - you will forget over time!</li>
<li>Ask teams about their tasks - each participant has slightly different perception of the common vision and status</li>
<li>Ask upstreams about use: perhaps potentials are missed, or code or persons feel as being abused</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="slide">
<h1 id="debian-pure-blends---future">Debian Pure Blends - Future</h1>
<ul>
<li>debconf dontcare vs. explicit choice of default option</li>
<li>debconf query mechanism (and fill buffer from live system)</li>
<li>APT explicit choice of alternate dependency/recommendation</li>
<li>APT dontcare vs. explicit choice of default dependency/recommendation</li>
<li>Config::Model - semantic configfile handling</li>
</ul>
</div>
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