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Idea #7108: More than one synaptic running

Written by alpikat the 16 Apr 08 at 13:20. Category: System. Related project: Nothing/Others. Status: New
Rationale

Hello, long since used ubuntu and one thing I was always angry, we can only run a synaptic at the same time, I can not be in add / remove programs and installing something in a terminal with apt-get at the same time. My idea is to run more than one synaptic at the same time.
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Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #7108
Written by alpikat the 16 Apr 08 at 13:20.
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #7108 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!
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Solution #2: synaptic should only lock the database while installing
Written by Cé the 18 Feb 09 at 20:03.
Could synaptic be changed that it only locks the database during the actual install, not during marking or downloading of packages?
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Solution #3: Disconnect package browsing GUIs from the installation/removal engine
Written by Warbo the 19 Feb 09 at 18:29.
Rather than package management applications locking the package manager, they could be able to run at once, talking to a daemon in the background which stores the marked packages and does the installing and removing. Users will not need or want to run multiple daemons, since they shouldn't have to even know that the daemon's there, however multiple package manager instances is an often-encountered, user-visible error/warning.
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Solution #4: Queuing of operations
Written by pengo the 9 Mar 09 at 02:44.
If you're only installing stuff, then queue up the operations. After one finishes installing, the other one can start automatically.
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Solution #5: Finer locking of database
Written by pengo the 9 Mar 09 at 02:50.
Allow finer locks on the database so that operations that don't conflict (like most installing of applications) can both happen simultaneously.
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Solution #6: Reorderable Queue
Written by Nate_the_Ace the 20 Jun 10 at 01:18.
I would like to see a queue in the "In Progress" window that can be dragged to reorder the installation order of the applications.

Maybe not reorder the installation in progress, but the ones that will come next.
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Solution #7: Have a daemon to manage the packages
Written by twocool the 17 Mar 09 at 00:09.
That daemon could have a queue.
The only problem with this is that it can lead to conflicts, like a user starting the installation of software #1 and then trying to install software #2 which is incompatible with software #1, so the daemon should detect this kind of situation.

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Eldmannen wrote on the 16 Apr 08 at 13:42
I think this is intended behavior to prevent conflicts.

Auzy wrote on the 16 Apr 08 at 13:58
It is, but we should do what apple does, and queue up package operations.

+1

edm1 wrote on the 16 Apr 08 at 15:07
It would be nice to also have tabbed searching in Synaptic.

natureflow wrote on the 16 Apr 08 at 15:12
>I think this is intended behavior to prevent conflicts.
No. It's to annoy the user. It should not install packets at the same time. But it should be possible just to OPEN more than one packetmanagement system.

Endperform wrote on the 16 Apr 08 at 15:20
@natureflow:

Yes, it's just to annoy users *rolls eyes* It's a safety mechanism to prevent database corruption. Now Auzy has a decent idea with creating a queue, but trying to allow two Synaptic instances at once in their current state would be trouble

ld_barthel wrote on the 16 Apr 08 at 16:16
It's not just about database corruption--it's about system corruption.

Let's say you start installing package X in Synaptic 1, then you decide to install package Y in Synaptic 2. No problem, right?

But what if package X conflicts with package Y? Since you started installing Y before X was installed, you'll wind up with *both* packages installed.

Or worse, you delete packages in Synaptic 2 that are dependencies of X? Because installing takes longer than removing (usually), you'll have X installed, but its dependencies will be missing.

It may be a hassle, but it maintains system integrity.

-1

Ssdg wrote on the 16 Apr 08 at 20:11
Just vote + to one of the countless same propositions.

steve196 wrote on the 16 Apr 08 at 22:11
The programming effort would be huge. The payoff would be tiny. And if we want Synaptic running parallel with apt-get, aptitude, ubuntu add/remove, adept...

rouge568 wrote on the 17 Apr 08 at 02:37
I had an idea about queuing packages: see number 3234.

c.sokun wrote on the 17 Apr 08 at 04:45
Synoptic should detect and run single instance "Mutex"

SquashMonster wrote on the 1 Apr 09 at 04:01
We need a good installation queueing program.

I just installed Ubuntu on a new machine. Getting it working the way I want means installing Inkscape, Wine, and Eclipse (add/remove), Sun Java (Synaptic), various codecs for proprietary formats (find codecs), graphics card drivers (proprietary drivers), Flash (package installer), and nearly 300 updates (update manager).

That's six different programs that needed to be run separately from eachother, and a few hours during which the user has to babysit the computer to get everything done.

Having all package management guis send the actual installation request to a queue could also mean that the required downloads are handled while other programs are installing. I understand why we can't install two programs at once, but why can't the user do any package management tasks during a download?


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