Summer Coding 2010 ideas - Advanced application installer

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Status: Idea

Summary of idea:

Existing application installer is not customizable. Users cannot add items freely. Our goal is to build a customizable application installer. For example, users can add comment for software. Software introduction can be changed. New software items can be added. Existing software items can be removed. Under the user's permission, the changes to the software items can be uploaded to a web service on google app-engine, therefore other users will obtain a benefit by downloading the changes. This application installer supports extensions. Users can add their own function.

Ailurus is a simple application installer [1]. It helps install popular applications easily on Fedora. Our work is to write code for Ailurus.

[1] http://ailurus.googlecode.com

Contacts: Homer Xing

Mentor(s): Homer Xing

More information

Description:

Some application installers, such as Ailurus, list specific software for specific task. They list few software, rather than list all packages in Fedora repository. They help new users because new users can find out software they want directly, rather than do searching in a lot of packages.

Our object is to make Ailurus be more customizable, in order to provide an advanced application installer to users.

Proposed feature:

• Software introduction can be changed by user. Users can add comment for software.

• New software items can be added, if software is in Fedora repository. The only work is to provide a package name, then a new item will appear.

• Software items can be removed.

• Under the user's permission, the changes to the software items can be uploaded to a web service on google app-engine.

• Support for extensions. Enabling extensions install/remove.

Impact on the Fedora community:

The project can improve the usability of Fedora. A greater portion of users will obtain a benefit.