On Tue, Dec 18, 2018 at 04:58:00PM +0000, g4sra via Dng wrote:

[cut]

>
> To clarify further...
> It is my view that the configuration program should be capable of being
> run at any time after installation, even multiple times on separate
> occasions as required.
>

I am not sure what you exactly mean here. The installer cannot be run
in "demo" mode, because almost any of the steps involved (except
keyboard and language selection) depend on the success of one or
usually several of the previous steps. In other words, the installer
is a *stateful* application. And could not be otherwise.

You simply can't install the base system if you haven't downloaded the
needed packages and mounted the root filesystem. You cannot mount the
root filesystem if you have not formatted it. You cannot format the
root filesystem if you haven't created a partition for it. You cannot
create a partition if you haven't detected the available disks and
decided how to configure them.

Same for the packages: you cannot download the packages if you haven't
configured the package manager and set a mirror. You can't configure a
mirror if you haven't a working Internet connection. You can't have a
working Internet connection if you haven't detected the available
network hardware, loaded any needed firmware, fired it up, assigned to
it a valid IP address, configured a default GW, and set up a DNS.

What are we talking about, exactly?

o_O

> For a simple example of the concept see the Raspberry Pi 'raspi-config' utility.
> Differing configuration UI's could potentially be developed over time...
> zsh, then ncurses, Xorg based (QT?)...
>
>

You are confusing a simple config file that is read once and for all
during boot time (the config file on raspberry pis) with the complete
installation of a new system. They are not even comparable. There is
no thing like "oh I re-run the installer configuration to change the
layout of my partitions".....

HND

KatolaZ

-- 
[ ~.,_  Enzo Nicosia aka KatolaZ - Devuan -- Freaknet Medialab  ]  
[     "+.  katolaz [at] freaknet.org --- katolaz [at] yahoo.it  ]
[       @)   http://kalos.mine.nu ---  Devuan GNU + Linux User  ]
[     @@)  http://maths.qmul.ac.uk/~vnicosia --  GPG: 0B5F062F  ] 
[ (@@@)  Twitter: @KatolaZ - skype: katolaz -- github: KatolaZ  ]