smart --gui update: all or nothing

[Mikus Grinbergs]

I've mentioned this before, but it is time to do it again.

For SuSE 10.0, 3rd party GNOME updates typically become available
in "batches" of more than 100 packages.  So when I do an 'upgrade'
in 'smart --gui', it wants to download and install them all.

I happen to have a slow dial-up line, and sporadically experience
downloading errors/timeouts.  When there are more than 100 packages
to update, such problems seem inevitable.  With 'apt-get upgrade',
I can use the '-m' flag to specify "do the best you can" -- and it
will go ahead and install those packages which were downloaded
successfully (and had no dependency conflicts).  That leaves undone
only the packages whose upgrade was unsuccessful, and allows me to
defer troubleshooting to a time more convenient to me.

'smart --gui' will not install unless ALL the candidates it started
with have been successfully downloaded.  If I'm otherwise occupied,
I have to leave the 'smart --gui' window sitting there "half done"
until it is convenient for me to again request 'apply'.  [Note:
upon "do it again", smart correctly does not repeat the *already*
done portion of the downloads.]

What I WISH for is that I could tell 'smart -gui':  "do the best
you can" -- and avoid the "install NOTHING" behavior that it now
exhibits as the result of any kind of a download error.


mikus


p.s.  The error pop-up that tells me about failed downloads does
      not provide a scroll bar.  If too many packages had download
      errors, some of that pop-up window's list extends off-screen.