dubuntu-team team mailing list archive

[Charl Wentzel <charl.wentzel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ok, given all the discussions, I'm going to make another proposal.  I'm
not saying this is the way we should do it but I'm simply trying to
visualise how this could be done... so go ahead and tear it apart... :-)

I've attached the proposal and sent it to you directly.  So Jay, if you
don't mind setting up a link again.  Thanks.

There are 3 different screens;

- Export Install Mode
    This is the configuration/layout suitable for advanced use with all
the bells-and-wistles turned on.  Here you can delve in to as much
details as you want.

- Novice Install Mode
    This is the same screen but with "categorisation" turned off in the
"Search Results" and the "Package Details" window minimised.  This
provides less detail and should be easier for complete novices.

- Contribute Mode
    Why not allow guys to contribute to the project? i.e. creating
categories, categorisation of pacakages, assigning search criteria etc.
Making this easy and accessible to users are critical to the success of
the project.


The 3 different windows are as follows:

* Search Criteria
This is the place you enter the seach criteria and also the part where
we mostly disagree.  The beauty of this design is that we can test both
our approaches.  

I agree that everything we've spoken about, including search categories,
categories, package groups, etc ,can be search categories and used in
the search criteria window.  But how many major search categories are
there really? 

Something like this maybe...

- Target platform
  - Gnome
  - KDE
  - CLI
  - Web
  - etc
- Programming Language
  - C++
  - PHP
  - Python
  - etc
- Tool Category
  - IDE
  - Compiler
  - GDB
  - etc

The user open the branch he wants to make a selection in and tick the
items he needs.  By default only a few options could be selected in the
"Tools Category" so it limits the results that will be shown in the
"Search Results" window.

* Search Results
This is the place where you show the results of the search.  A special
feature here is to turn "categorisation" on and off.  In Novice mode
it's off and in advanced mode it on, but there should actually be a
simple tick box some where on the window that allows you to turn this on
and off quickly and easily.

This caters for both our approaches as well.  I prefer viewing a large
result set in groups, which makes it easier to understand.  But if you
don't like it... turn it off.

Note that the result here is what I refered to as "package groups" and
not the actual packages.  I don't believe a novice should be overwhelmed
by the package details initially.  But if he wants to he can simply
"maximise" the "Package Details" window.

The user simply select the packages he wants.

There's also a "custom" package group which allows an advanced user to
amend the selection with packages of his choice.  When you select
"custom" you can add packages in the "Package Details" window with the
"add" button.

* Package details
This is the actual packages that will be installed.  The packages shown
will be determined by the category that is currently selected in the
"Search Results" window.  Of course the user can "unselect" anything he
feels he doesn't need.


Load/Save/Install configurations:
The install button is right at the bottom, so when your'e happy... go!

As discussed, once you're done with your selection you can simply save
the results.  We could also add a load button here so EVERYTHING is on
one screen!!  Load or save would bring up a pop-up screen that would
allow you to save/load on your local machine or upload/download it
directly to a contribute or sharing site.

Contribute Mode:
This is essentially the same screen but a different order and consists
of the following steps:
1. Create/add/select a category
2. Create/add/select a package group
3. Add packages.  (We can add a pop-up window which would allow you to
search and select packages from the master list.
4. Assign the search criteria that is valid for each package.
5. Upload to www.devbuntu.org for review and approval

It should be that easy!!

What do you think?

Regards
Charl