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#1 2009-09-15 04:03:28

cjdj
Member
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: 2004-05-07
Posts: 121

The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

I've been using Arch for a number of years now, but everytime I install it on new hardware, or add new hardware to an existing system, I think, Wouldn't it be great if I could just do 'pacman -S system-hp-7600dc' and it installs all the software needed to get that particular model running, including audio, video, usb config, cpu throttling, etc.

At one point I had an older HP inkjet printer, but then bought a different one.   It would have been great if I could have done a 'pacman -S printer-hp-c4240'.  Which makes sure that the required packages are installed for the printer, scanner, and any other bits.

I have an asus eeepc netbook, and I know there are instructions out there on how to get Arch running on it, I think it would be super cool if you could just do a basic install (that hopefully should recognize and configure the wireless as part of the install), and then do a 'pacman -S system-eeepc-701' and it does all the packages for wireless, ethernet, audio, video, webcam, hibernation, cpu throttling, keyboard mappings, and so on.

It may not be able to do all the configuration automatically, but I think this would be a good start, and an impressive feature.    I'm willing to create packages for hardware that I have and know about... but does this appeal to anyone else too?

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#2 2009-09-15 04:24:32

theringmaster
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From: Air Force
Registered: 2007-07-16
Posts: 581
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Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

I use hplip for my hp printers. works wonderfully with my c4280


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#3 2009-09-15 04:32:02

bangkok_manouel
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From: indicates a starting point
Registered: 2005-02-07
Posts: 1,556

Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

most of what you mentioned is kernel related anyway so it should be there. otherwise, you could easily create groups that include the needed packages.

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#4 2009-09-15 04:44:22

Xyne
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Registered: 2008-08-03
Posts: 6,963
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Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

This sounds more like something you would expect from Ubuntu (out-of-the-box functionality).

I doubt something like this would get any official support considering how difficult it would be to set up and maintain. It also goes against the Arch Way in telling the user what to install for a given setup.

Some people would surely find it useful though. I would suggest setting up a (public) repo to test this with some metapackages. Although you could technically use the AUR, I would not recommend it. The packages that you determine as necessary will often be arbitrary, which will lead to disagreements over packages in the AUR. It might also be considered clutter.

You might find metapax useful for this (on my site). I haven't touched it in a while though but if you need a feature or want to change something, I can probably be convinced to update it.


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#5 2009-09-15 06:45:52

fukawi2
Ex-Administratorino
From: .vic.au
Registered: 2007-09-28
Posts: 6,217
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Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

This was raised in a thread only a week or 2 ago.

One of the big issues that was raised is how to deal with the situation where a system is shipped in a standard configuration, but then has an option to upgrade the video card, or sound card etc. You then have 2 systems branded as HP 7600dc but one has an ATI video card and the other has a nVidia.

Last edited by fukawi2 (2009-09-15 06:46:32)

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#6 2009-09-17 07:32:45

cjdj
Member
From: Perth, Western Australia
Registered: 2004-05-07
Posts: 121

Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

I haven't come up with a good solution for this, but its something that I wish for from time to time.   I may think about it some more, and go find that thread you mention from before.  If I can come up with a simple and reliable solution, I'll let people know.

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#7 2009-09-17 08:22:57

rasat
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From: Finland, working in Romania
Registered: 2002-12-27
Posts: 2,293
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Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

fukawi2 wrote:

You then have 2 systems branded as HP 7600dc but one has an ATI video card and the other has a nVidia.

Requires a hardware detect engine which "lspci" does well.


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#8 2009-09-17 08:26:10

ngoonee
Forum Fellow
From: Between Thailand and Singapore
Registered: 2009-03-17
Posts: 7,354

Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

Perhaps a modular collection of scripts? For example, lspci with some smart grep-ping would be able to tell you what video card you have and its model, which could be matched against a database. I've thought of something similar before, to automatically determine what modules are needed (big help in trimming down custom kernel configs), but never managed to get anything working.

Of course, this sounds maintenance intensive however you look at it. Someone has to pay attention to what hardware is out there currently and update for the latest hardware... Not very KISS IMO.


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#9 2009-09-17 08:27:14

fukawi2
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From: .vic.au
Registered: 2007-09-28
Posts: 6,217
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Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

rasat wrote:
fukawi2 wrote:

You then have 2 systems branded as HP 7600dc but one has an ATI video card and the other has a nVidia.

Requires a hardware detect engine which "lspci" does well.

Which wouldn't work if this was implemented using a custom repository with meta-packages... Unless you have a .install something like this psuedo-code:

PACKAGES=(aaa abc xyz zzz)

VGA=`lspci | grep VGA`
if [ "$VGA" = 'nvidia' ] ; then
   VGA='nvidia-driver'
elseif [ "$VGA" = 'ati' ] ; then
   VGA='ati-driver'
fi

for PKG in "${PACKAGES[@]}"; do
   pacman -S $PKG
done
pacman -S $VGA

Kind of a hack though....

Last edited by fukawi2 (2009-09-17 08:27:36)

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#10 2009-09-17 11:00:53

XFire
Member
From: UK
Registered: 2008-05-11
Posts: 192

Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

fukawi2 wrote:
rasat wrote:
fukawi2 wrote:

You then have 2 systems branded as HP 7600dc but one has an ATI video card and the other has a nVidia.

Requires a hardware detect engine which "lspci" does well.

Which wouldn't work if this was implemented using a custom repository with meta-packages... Unless you have a .install something like this psuedo-code:

PACKAGES=(aaa abc xyz zzz)

VGA=`lspci | grep VGA`
if [ "$VGA" = 'nvidia' ] ; then
   VGA='nvidia-driver'
elseif [ "$VGA" = 'ati' ] ; then
   VGA='ati-driver'
fi

for PKG in "${PACKAGES[@]}"; do
   pacman -S $PKG
done
pacman -S $VGA

Kind of a hack though....

You're using propriety codecs yikes There's probably some gremlins that would eat you alive for that.


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#11 2009-09-17 14:44:27

zenlord
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From: Belgium
Registered: 2006-05-24
Posts: 1,221
Website

Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

I like the idea, but it would require a lot of work.

Isn't the wiki great for this?

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#12 2009-09-17 16:05:56

pyther
Member
Registered: 2008-01-21
Posts: 1,395
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Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

I think a script would be the most useful...

cpufreq-info | grep 'available frequency steps:' | sed -e 's/available frequency steps\://' | sed 's/^[ \t]*//' | sed -e '1d'

That could detect the available frequencies (I realize the code sucks)

You can use fukawi2 solution to detect the video drivers that would be needed and that is just about it.

All other kernel modules are pretty much loaded automatically


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#13 2009-09-17 22:38:06

fukawi2
Ex-Administratorino
From: .vic.au
Registered: 2007-09-28
Posts: 6,217
Website

Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

Using what I wrote above, people could start putting these into the AUR straight away if anyone CBF writing it wink

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#14 2009-09-21 21:05:57

robmaloy
Member
From: Germany
Registered: 2008-05-14
Posts: 263

Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

Xyne wrote:

It also goes against the Arch Way in telling the user what to install for a given setup.


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#15 2009-09-21 22:57:55

fukawi2
Ex-Administratorino
From: .vic.au
Registered: 2007-09-28
Posts: 6,217
Website

Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

robmaloy wrote:
Xyne wrote:

It also goes against the Arch Way in telling the user what to install for a given setup.

Only if the user asks....

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#16 2009-09-21 23:45:35

ngoonee
Forum Fellow
From: Between Thailand and Singapore
Registered: 2009-03-17
Posts: 7,354

Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

Yes, similarly to how Gnome is available in a group.


Allan-Volunteer on the (topic being discussed) mailn lists. You never get the people who matters attention on the forums.
jasonwryan-Installing Arch is a measure of your literacy. Maintaining Arch is a measure of your diligence. Contributing to Arch is a measure of your competence.
Griemak-Bleeding edge, not bleeding flat. Edge denotes falls will occur from time to time. Bring your own parachute.

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#17 2009-09-22 09:47:29

iphitus
Forum Fellow
From: Melbourne, Australia
Registered: 2004-10-09
Posts: 4,927

Re: The last ArchLinux feature I've been missing...

So, effectively it's been identified as way too complicated.

More effective is good documentation. See wiki.archlinux.org? Add a page for your computer.

As an example of fukawi2 said regarding 2 PCs with the same product name. I bought an Asus eeePC 1000HE. I expected an N280 core and atheros wifi. However I received an N270 and Realtek wifi. Turns out that in Australia at least they've been selling a different 1000HE, however this is not differentiated in the BIOS or anywhere else, it's just a "1000HE".

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