New Smart GUI

[Richard Hendershot]

On Thu, 2007-08-02 at 12:08 -0700, linux_learner wrote:
> Some great ideas. I am working toward this. 
> 
> On 8/2/07, Mikus Grinbergs <mikus at bga.com> wrote:
>         > Jop and I have been working on the new smart gui.
>         > I am open to suggestions.
>         
>         
>         Some wishes:
>         
>           - My biggest simple complaint with the present GUI is that
>             (probably because of the way I have smart set up) the
>         'Expand 
>             All' in 'View' cannot be checkmarked.
>         
>             Having done a 'Search", I have to *additionally* request
>            'Expand All' - I would like to be able to omit this extra
>         step.
>         
>           - And the "Status Area" needs to be *blanked* every time
>         that a 
>             click initiates some kind of processing.  As it is, the
>         output
>             message "No interesting updates available" from 'Upgrade'
>             persists inappropriately after other functions are
>         invoked.
>         
>           - Also, I wish that the various smart windows would remember
>         their
>             sizes and positions the way I've set them.  As it is, I
>         have to
>             re-size/re-position them every time I restart 'smart
>         --GUI'. 
>         
>           - I believe that with the current implementation, when a
>         panel
>             provides a 'Close' button, sometimes when I forget and
>         click on
>             the 'X' in the Title Bar - nothing much happens.  I wish
>         the 'X' 
>             would do the same thing the 'Close' button does.
>         
>           - A major complaint that is more difficult to fix is that
>         the
>             'Change Summary' panel put up by 'Upgrade all
>         packages' (also by 
>             'Apply marked changes') is __read-only__.  There are times
>         when
>             I do *not* want a particular package to be upgraded.  The
>         best
>             that I can do is to make sure that "changes" are "marked",
>         then: 
>         
>               As now implemented, I have to separately go to 'View',
>               checkmark 'Hide Unmarked' (and in a separate step
>         request
>               'Expand All') -- only in the resulting main panel can I 
>               then "unmark" the changes I do not want applied.
>         
>             It would cut out the extra steps if I could "unmark" from
>         the
>             'Change Summary' panel directly.
>         
>         
>         
>         And a comment: 
>         
>           - I greatly prefer (from a Human-Factors viewpoint) the
>         top-level
>             layout in Ubuntu Synaptic -- there is no need to go to the
>         'View'
>             drop-down menu -- instead the selection buttons (for what
>         is to 
>             be displayed in the main panel) are *always* accessible.
>         
>         
>         mikus
>         
> 

I'd like to see the main window to include the Group that a package was
from.  This is in the Channels hierarchical view.  An example is
searching on 'rescue'.  I see ddrescue.  I don't know what group it's
from.  It sounds like what I need.

I also see blobwarz and ballz.  They *sound* like games but that is not
always so clear.  If I chose Group or Channel&Group views then the only
thing accomplished is I have to drill down into every repository and
group to see what files they might contain.

I want just to see the files whose descriptions match and their
attributes.  Group surely is one.

When all is said and done, I find smart an irreplaceable tool, so
whatever GUI warts might come along with it I have to acknowledge that
it does the job; I'm much more concerned about its handling of all the
various repositories, their types, their disparate versions, and
performance than ease of use.  Huge, hearty Thanks to the devs.

But if any GUI effort destabilizes the core then I'm totally against.

-Rick