Idea for controlling packages

[RayDude]

I got this idea quite a while back, but it seems more important today than ever.

I'm doing a fresh install for my server and I've never had more trouble getting the use flags right. The interconnection of the various use flags are quite often difficult to reconcile.

I understand the need for use flags and how they determine the various features that compile into a package, but as an average Gentoo user I don't know enough about individual packages to know how to configure them for the most efficient configuration and often I make it so I have to change use flags half way through my first emerge world because (for example) mysql needs four particular use flags that I knew nothing about.

The idea I had a couple of years ago was to create a data repository which is user controlled.

You could think of it as a configuration manager wiki.

The idea is simple: write a bit of code that sits on an Apache server on an internet domain somewhere, say gentooconfig.org or something like that that acts as a frontend to a data base. The data is user controlled and at first would be manually entered.

It would contain information for people's configurations, for example:

Hardware information:

1. Machine Identification (a large number, say 16384 bits) which is a checksum of the machine bios and hardware configuration. This should be unique for every system, but systems that are identical in hardware configuration would be the same checksum. So all Inspiron 8200's with 1 Gig of RAM an ATI card and stock wireless would show up as the same Machine Identification. This is the most useful thing about gentooconfig.org. This number leads to an entry in the database that lists all the component Sub Identification numbers. We'll call this the MIN.

2. Machine Sub-Identification (also a large number) which is a checksum of each individual component of the hardware. Screen, motherboard, processor, ethernet, video card, etc. Call this the MSIN. The MSIN points to a set of hardware configuration files which is unique to that particular device. Included are packages that need to be emerged, global use options needed, package.use individual entries. I can see a problem with the existing system. Trying to figure out what hardware needs which use flags could be problematic. However, the goal of the database would be to hold configuration files for many many systems and then correlate the information into generic configuration files which people who are doing fresh installs can use to emerge their system. Or maybe we could change the package information files so that they indicate which piece of hardware they are supporting.

Hardware configuration is only part of the Gentoo install, its the basis of the install, but the software is far more complicated these days. So the second part of the configuration is Software:

For each major package (probably with a pointer to the hardware configuration) there are a set of files which indicate the use flags needed, etc. This is sorta built into gentoo now, the only issue is: when someone wants to emerge (for example) apache, setting up the use flags is difficult. Is there some place that tells what use flags there are and how they effect apache? I know how to find the use flags using equery, and I know about use.desc, but all that is very complicated. I'd like something simpler.

Thats where the software configuration manager comes in. People who have successfully configured software for their system can upload the configuration information to the gentooconfig.org server and like the hardware configuration manager, others who want the same configuration can view or even download the package information to recreate that configuration on their computer.

That's where the configuration software comes in. The last step would be to create software that can take snapshots of existing configurations and upload it to the server. It can grab hardware configurations or software configurations or even entire system configurations.

For example, people who have an Inspiron 8200 (like me) who get Beryl working with the radeon drivers (which I ain't) could create a configuration and upload it to the server, then poor schmucks like me who haven't got a clue (or at least not enough of a clue to get it working) can download and install the configuration, do an emerge -DNuv world and everything should work exactly the same as the person who got it working.

See where I'm going with this?

I'm trying to find a way to make it easier for people to use Gentoo.

Since this is user controlled content, there would have to be a rating system and admins would have to be able to eliminate configurations that are, according to user feedback, unhelpful or problematic.

As you can see this simple idea has become a huge idea for a project. Anyone want to work with me to try and figure out more details and maybe even try to figure out if its possible?

Does something like this already exist? If so, may I have a URL?

Thanks for reading this far,

Raydude
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Some day there will only be free software.

[doubleagent]

So many other things (than USE flags) affect whether a program works or not (ie. kernel configuration).

Another thing is that so many of the USE flags apply to personal preference, not essential hardware support and such.

What would be more beneficial would be to get a snapshot of a persons entire system, once s/he gets an application to work, and upload it to the server, identifying the portions that really affect the application.

THEN, when joe user comes along, we check the database for an equivalent system, pull out the info, and cross-check joe user's system with the system of the person who got it working, and,...deep breath...display the results.

...Just a little more work.

...or a lot.

Long story short, I don't see it being very useful unless it's comprehensive.

...and comprehensive is hard.

...incredibely hard.

EDIT: On the other hand, we could do what WINE does, which is allow anybody to write a short manual and provide correspondance support for any application.

Last I looked, they don't have a lot of volunteers. It's a huge undertaking.
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[RayDude]

That was one of the things I had in mind.

It is a lot of work, that's for sure.

Thanks for the feed back.

Raydude
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Some day there will only be free software.