Enable customized oem-config languages displayed

Attached patch (created from bzr diff) does both of the above. The idea is:
 * Languages displayed: look first in a new location for the languagelistdata.gz file. If found, use its contents as the set of languages to display. If not, fall back to ubiquity's file.
 * Language selected: look for another file that specifies the language to set as selected and if found use it, else use normal means

There's actually already some functionality to only show the languages that are in your pool. If you populate it only with the languages you care about, that's all that will be presented to the user.

Hi Mario,

Can you please provide a simple example of how to make, for example, oem-config's Language page show only three languages: let's say French, German, and simplified/Chinese, with, for example German selected by default?

Kyle:

1) Preseed:
  d-i oem-config/install-language-support boolean true
2) Populate an apt pool with those language packages
3) In an early command for oem-config or a late command for ubiquity refresh the apt cache to only know about those languages.

Oops wrong preseed:

 d-i ubiquity/only-show-installable-languages boolean true

Mario:
Which type(s) of language packages specifically need to go in the apt pool? Do you literally mean "language-support-..." pkgs? or "language-pack-<code>" pkgs? Any mix of pkgs that start with "language" and end with "<code>"?

Mario:

Also, there may be use cases where we want to display a language in oem config and let the user select it, but we do not have the language pack for it present in an on disk archive (due to, for example, disk footprint limitations), and we may not be able to assume a network connection to an apt archive that contains it.

(Granted, such users would need to run Language Support, later, but I don't want to rule this case out.)

The simple patch provides easy-to-use control of the default displayed language list (and determining which is set by default) without the necessity of having to put together an apt cache populated with lang packs.

Kyle:
* What's in the pool
I do mean literally the language-support and language-pack pkgs. You might want to check with Tony for what stuff gets included in the builds his team puts together in terms of language pool if you want to match up verbosely.

* No network case
I personally think that's a bad experience to allow the person to pick a language that you don't really support after the out of box experience unless they have web access (part of the reason why that preseed was created). It potentially creates a lot of confusion for the end user since they have no idea what this language tool is or how to find it.

Evan will make the call whether or not to include a patch like the one you listed for oneric though.

We supported this use case in UNR time frame (oem group).

The use case enables a generic "remix" iso that supports a lot of (but not all) default languages. So, not all of them had language packs on disk, due to disk footprint targets. For those languages that did not have on disk lang packs, the user gets a message after oem-config (translated) that said: "Your language is not completely installed, please use Language Support to complete the installation" (or something along those lines).

Mario, the other problem (I think) with your solution is the part where you say: "in an early command for oem-config.."

The important point of the patch is to enable setting the languages displayed in oem-config *without* needing to modify ubiquity src pkg. I *think* your solution requires that. Whereas with the patch, one can just drop two files into place and it works.

No, oem config has support for a preseedable early command key. No
modifications made to the ubiquity source package.

The same thing can be achieved during a ubiquity late command too (again its
a preseedable key)
On Apr 20, 2011 7:06 PM, "Kyle Nitzsche" <email address hidden>
wrote:

Excellent. Can you please elucidate the keys?

ubiquity late command:
 ubiquity/success_command

oem config early command:
 oem-config/early_command

Has this been resolved, or do you still require/want some new features in ubiquity?

This is resolved. Thanks.

[Expired for ubiquity (Ubuntu Precise) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]

[Expired for ubiquity (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]