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 *** README for pmnew-gui ***
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 * What is pmnew-gui

pmnew-gui is a prototype for a new concept of a package manager interface.

It is the GUI implementation of the ideas found at [1] and [2], addressing the
problem of finding new packages to install.

The goal of pmnew is to have every little detail designed to be as smart as
possible: for example, the list of packages shows at the top the packages that
the system thinks you are interested in having comparing your system to
thousands other systems.

[1] http://www.enricozini.org/2007/debtags/pmdraft
[2] http://www.enricozini.org/2007/debtags/pmdraft-commandline.html


 * Installation

Packages you need to have installed for pmnew-gui to run:

   python-debian
   python-deb822
   python-xapian
   python-apt
   python-glade2
   python-gtk2

Packages that will make pmnew-gui smarter:

   popularity-contest
      (it needs to have been run recently: pmnew-gui reads the
      "/var/log/popularity-contest" file that is generated by the
      popularity-contest periodic run)

Please run ./update-data to create the data files used by pmnew-gui.  If you
want to try the popularity-contest features, you need to be connected to the
internet.

You can run update-data anytime you want to update or rebuild pmnew-gui data
files.

 * Running

Run pmnew-gui.  On the left-hand side you can search and select package
categories (also called tags).  On the right-hand side you see the packages
that correspond to the tags you selected.

If you mark a tag as desired, you will see the packages that have that tag.  If
you mark a tag as undesired, you will see the packages that do not have that
tag.

Start with typing some keywords in the tag search field to get a nice selection
of tags.  Then click on the D ("Desired") column to mark a tag as 'Desired'.
You can use the 'Undesired' button to mark a tag as 'Undesired'.  The package
list will update accordingly.

You can use the filter at the top of the package list to limit the packages
view to only some common kinds of packages.

 * Tips

The tag search is very smart: use it, and change the keywords as often as you
like.  You do not need to know what you want in order to use it: just type
something in it.

If you leave the tag search field empty, you will see a selection of tags that
will lead you quickly to find what you want, whatever it is that you want.
Really.

If you have popularity-contest installed, then the packages are sorted by how
much the system thinks that you are interested in the package, after comparing
your system with all the other systems known to popularity-contest.

 * Bug reports and future development

This is an effort to produce prototypes and proofs of concepts for new ways of
interacting with package managers: therefore, the focus is more on creating new
prototypes than in turning the ones we have into full applications.

Please feel free to join the playground: it's fun!

Otherwise, do take the ideas and code you see here and use them in your
application, or build new applications based on what you find here.

If you want to send ideas or bug report that's fine, but they could end up
being ignored if people are busy in experimenting with something else.  It is
much more fun to branch the code[1] and fix it, get to know it, try out new
things.

[1]
bzr branch http://people.debian.org/~enrico/2007-02/pmnew-gui/