Siduction Forum > Ideas & Improvements
[EN] Ideas for packages to be replaced
David:
This is a place to discuss ideas for decreasing the number and size of packages in the next ISO.
Here is my initial set of ideas:
#1 bad package replacement: AUDACIOUS, SMPLAYER, SMTUBE, GPODDER
I propose that these packages
--- Code: ---https://packages.debian.org/sid/sound/audacious
https://packages.debian.org/sid/sound/audacious-plugins
https://packages.debian.org/sid/smplayer
https://packages.debian.org/sid/gpodder
--- End code ---
be replaced with VLC media player and its base plugins
--- Code: ---https://packages.debian.org/sid/vlc
https://packages.debian.org/sid/vlc-plugin-base
--- End code ---
Audacious only has the ability to play audio files, and while it may seem appealing with only a 0.7 MB pre-install footprint, it means that you need more packages to play video, do media streaming, etc. which means, ultimately, more space has been wasted than gained.
SMPlayer can play videos and even play youtube videos but we have firefox in the ISO so there is no need for it.
SMTube is again unnecessary as we have firefox to play youtube videos.
Gpodder has the ability to play podcasts and very little else. It has a .4 MB pre-install footprint which again can be supplemented.
I propose that instead of Audacious, SMPlayer, gPodder, and god knows what else was picked to do media playback and streaming be replaced with VLC media player.
VLC itself has a very small footprint, being less than 1 MB (pre-install) however its base plugins are 3.6 MB before install. I argue, however, that if you took the time to evaluate other packages (and dependencies) that are supplemented with VLC you will be able to save dozens of megabytes.
VLC: https://packages.debian.org/sid/vlc
VLC base plugins: https://packages.debian.org/sid/vlc-plugin-base
VLC Features:
* Audio and Video playback
* Audio and Video transcoding/file conversion
* network media streaming/home theater service
* Media sharing capabilities
Other things about VLC as opposed to the huge number of packages used to replace it:
* VLC has very few dependencies compared to the packages I highlighted
* Audacious is broken on my system due to an issue that arose with the package a few months ago but VLC is totally fine
* VLC has more playback capabilities than SMPlayer and SMTube thereby making it functionally superior
* More people have used VLC so it will make the distro more noob-friendly
#2 Bad package replacement: Mousepad
Mousepad's debian package page:
--- Code: ---https://packages.debian.org/sid/editors/mousepad
--- End code ---
Mousepad is an extremely basic text editor with a GUI interface. I suspect its conclusion is solely to provide a GUI text editor for people who've never used VIM in their lives and don't intend on learning any time soon. I find this necessary as well, so I will only mention GUI text editors that could replace it.
I think a GUI text editor should have the following features:
* UTF-8 and ASCII compatibility
* Syntax highlighting either by default for C and C++ or available through making config files/templates
* Dark mode to reduce eye strain (and this forum should have it too)
And I've found the following features EXTREMELY USEFUL in the past:
* keyboard shortcuts for indenting and de-indenting with tab and shift+tab across selected lines
* auto comment and auto uncomment with a keyboard shortcut across selected lines
* doubling as a hex editor
* run commands and place the output in the file at the cursor
*
--- Code: ---https://packages.debian.org/sid/editors/KWrite has a smaller footprint and syntax highlighting for multiple languages, although its dependencies may be too large to justify the replacement.
https://packages.debian.org/sid/editors/gedit only 100 kB more and has syntax highlighting, themes, etc.
https://packages.debian.org/sid/editors/geany is significantly larger but has syntax highlighting and numerous other features including multiple newline convention compatibility and themes. My favorite text editor.
--- End code ---
#3 Duplicate packages: qpdfview and evince
Both qpdfview and evince are present in the distro. I recommend replacing one of them with a program that can actually edit PDFs.
Do you guys have any ideas?
ReinerS:
I disagree.
Audacious is a nice little audioplayer ror running just in the "background". VLC is just too much overhead for that.Similar is mousepad, as an easy to use Editor.
On the rest I cannot say much, I sometimes use smplayer.
regards
Reiner
axt:
Your threads show that you have a completely wrong conception of the distribution called siduction (there is also a history...aptosid, sidux, kanotix).
Only a handful of users are directly behind the project as developers, maintainers...Comparatively few others use this distribution.
siduction is a distribution for Linux enthusiasts who want to use up-to-date software, debian-based (usually a contradiction in terms). They deal with Linux or the distribution itself and can solve problems themselves.
In my experience that excludes players. They are a different kind of user. A player needs a stable system, the imponderables of which he doesn't want to worry about.
Your advocacy of integrating quake port or similar into the images will only be smiled at here.
Images, plural. There are flavours, not just a single version. For each the respective maintainer decides the content.
You install the flavour with the largest intersection (or just noX or the one with xorg). What you don't like, what you don't need, you uninstall. What you additionally need, you install (thus also the plain text editor of your choice).
This is not a beginner distribution, we shouldn't have to talk about apt at all.
dibl:
@David, if you have strong feelings about the contents of your gnome DE flavor ISO, perhaps you could contact the maintainer of that DE and see if you can help out with maintenance, sell your proposition, etc.
Hint: Down this page:
https://news.siduction.org/2018/05/release-notes-for-siduction-2018-3-0/
David:
I don't use the gnome flavor, I use LXDE. I know, theoretically we should include mousepad if we're going to use that, but i've been told by some little birds that this distro is having trouble fitting on a CD and some people are actually upset about it.
I think a quake sourceport is definitely worth the space if we can have 3+ terminal programs and 2 seperate PDF readers
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