Ubuntu Wiki

• Launchpad Entry: https://launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+spec/ubuntu-express-base-system

• Created: Date(2005-10-31T18:12:31Z) by Fabianx

• Contributors: Fabianx, ColinWatson, LaMontJones, StephanHermann, AndrewMitchell

• Packages affected: ubuntu-express, apt-setup, keymapper, cdebconf, kbd-chooser

Summary

The Ubuntu Express Installer needs to configure the base system, to create a user and set a password. The Ubuntu installer already contains code to configure the base system, which we can reuse under the oem-config framework.

Rationale

Possible things this component has to do:

1. Create User/Password.

2. Possibly get language/i18n/timezone out of debconf (see UbuntuExpress/CopyFileSystem)

Use cases

1. Users want to have their own username and password.
2. Users want the system in their language.

Scope

Design

Implementation

Code

Data preservation and migration

Outstanding issues

BoF agenda and discussion

 * country (inferred from timezone?)
 * timezone
 * language
 * keymap
 * user's real name, username, and password
 * hostname
 * apt configuration

GNOME user interface will probably display a city map so that you can choose the timezone based on that; this implies country and gives us a good guess for language.

Guadalinex implementation already has username/password/hostname, just need some polish; some user interface debate about whether the hostname ought to be asked at all in a desktop install.

apt configuration:
 - need to regenerate by default so that we get local CC.archive.ubuntu.com mirrors
 - must honour customisations and not overwrite
  - ... including customisations made to the live CD filesystem before the user boots
 - nevertheless, may be useful for casper to use the new apt-setup udebs to generate a sample apt configuration as the live CD starts up, provided that the customiser doesn't forbid it from doing so (using some yet-to-be-invented mechanism)

keymap configuration:
 - factor out magic keymapper widget from existing installer (spread over cdebconf, kbd-chooser, console-data, keymapper), use in GNOME/KDE user interfaces if possible
 - definitely select keymap default from what's configured in the live CD (see other BOFs)

how to get pieces only available as udebs? (unpack udebs somehow, or generate debs from each relevant source package)
 - in this case, the only things we care about are (I think) apt-setup and the keyboard configuration bits; apt-setup wants to generate a deb eventually anyway, and I can cope with building some for keymapper etc.