Identifying Primary Packages

Status

• Created: 20/04/05 by MarkShuttleworthBR

• Priority: LowPriorityBR

• People: MichaelVogtLead, NeedsSecondBR

• Contributors: MarkShuttleworthBR

• Interested: BR

• Status: BrainDump, UduBof, DistroSpecificationBR

• Branch: BR

• Malone Bug: BR

• Packages: BR

• Depends: BR

Introduction

This specification describes a way of categorising packages so that people can be presented with a more straightforward package selection. Currently, Ubuntu main consists of well over 1,000 packages. The goal of this specification is to reduce the normal default package list to around 200 packages, by choosing not to display libraries and developer packages.

Rationale

With the number of packages formally supported by the Ubuntu team growing every month, we need to find ways to make it easier for users to find the package they are looking for. One way to do this is to show only the "primary" packages by default, where "primary" denotes a package that is not a library or dev or doc package.

In some cases, a library could be a primary package in its own right, but in general it's unlikely that an end-user would be looking for a specific library. End-users are more likely to be looking for applications and utilities, so we would like to present a list that by default is limited to those "primary" applications.

Scope and Use Cases

Implementation Plan

Data Preservation and Migration

Packages Affected

User Interface Requirements

Outstanding Issues