KDE/Challenges

From openSUSE

This page collects challenges to the KDE team, not necessarily for next release only. It doesn't list what we're doing fine (like openSUSE user ratio chosing KDE) or doesn't require additional effort/planning (like package version upgrade/security fixes).

Growing KDE Team and openSUSE KDE Packages Amount

• Get more people involved in developing features (like openSUSE Xgl Settings) and creating packages (like KDE:Community build service project)
  • Packaging Day was repeated on 4th and 5th April 2008
  • Watch/scan the build service home: projects of people for KDE related packages (done by dirk?)
  • KDE:KDE4:[UN]STABLE:Community build service projects exist now

Promoting openSUSE as KDE Development Platform

• How to promote the distro and tools (eg build service) as best platform
  • Qyoto and Qt Jambi packages are not really being worked on
  • Package Qt Eclipse integration (Issues: doesn't work on 64 bit Eclipse at the moment, support will be added when Qt 4.4 is released)
• Provide a KDE Developer Kit

Promoting openSUSE as a KDE distribution in general

• Combat the widespread (and growing) misconception that KDE in openSUSE is not high priority and that openSUSE is no longer a good option for KDE users.
  • Users and developers can use blogs and other platforms to stress that openSUSE provides a brilliant KDE experience (stable, polished, enhanced, BuildService repos, great KDE4 availability, very large community of KDE users, many KDE developers employed).
• next talks about 'KDE on openSUSE' will be LinuxTag and likely Akademy

GPL3

• Both Qt3 and Qt4 are available now also under GPL3 license. Factory has GPL v2 and v3 versions of both.
• Both KDE3 and KDE4 are affected by libraries moving to GPLv3 (see KDE Relicensing Project)

Bug Reports

• We have to keep an overview which bug reports are SUSE-specific and hence will not be fixed upstream
• How to mark KDE4 bug reports? New Bugzilla categories "KDE4 Workspace" and "KDE4 Applications" have been created.
• Have KDE Bug Days together with community
• Promote internally the need for an upstream integration in our bug tracking system

One CD-Media

• Keep the one CD KDE3 and KDE4 install and live media small enough to fit on a CD (problems/suggestions)
• PM requests to have at least German language support on CD
  • kde3-i18n and kde4-l10n packages are split into messages and docs/other for German
  • kdebase3-runtime has been split of from kdebase3
  • kdm3 theming is moved in desktop-data-openSUSE

KDE 4.0/4.1

• Also see KDE on openSUSE 11.0 discussion
• openSUSE 10.3
  • What options will we offer to upgrade its KDE4 packages to KDE 4.0? Only refer to one-click/KDE:KDE4. No online update.
• Provide KDE4 desktop without lost functionality compared to 10.3 default desktop
  • This means porting of SUSE-specific/characteristic applications/extensions
  • Review all patches to KDE3 packages and port them if they are still applicable (beineri to create table)
• Default Desktop of openSUSE 11.0
  • We are aiming at KDE 4.0 being default KDE desktop
  • How long will we continue to ship a KDE 3 desktop on DVD/FTP? At least 11.0 will have KDE 3.5.9
• Packaging
  • Package Names
    • How long to keep the "kde4-" prefix to packages? At least for 11.0.
  • DOC files
    • Try harder to use application subdirs' AUTHORS, COPYING*, README than module's files for application packages
  • Icons
    • Push to have application icons installed into hicolor/ path (mostly done in trunk), remove desktop-files.diff patches afterwards (done for 4.0.60 packages where icon exists)
  • Prefix
    • We luckily have less problems than other distributions as we use /usr prefix while we have kept KDE3 in /opt/kde3. Still we have some problems with
      • Handling of autostart applications, like shall apps the be specific to KDE desktop version or start on all KDE desktops?
      • PATH handling
• Configuration/Migration
  • Will we keep ~/.kde4 as configuration directory? For whole KDE4 cycle.
  • What about data/config migration? Try to read from ~/.kde where no ~/.kde4 config exists.
  • Keep the "panel" closely aligned to upstream of each release or more to our KDE3 setup? Very same for now.
  • Later (like KDE 4.1) will have different start menus available. Which to use? Likely stay with Kickoff familiarity reason.
• Integration
  • How to make Gtk+ applications look good? What KDE style will we use as default? Will be there an emulating Gtk+ style?
  • Help to make KDE applications run well and look good unter GNOME.
• Applications
  • Non-KDE core applications
    • Switch package to KDE4 version once an application gets ported? Or add additional package and keep KDE3 version around?
    • Application Porting Status
    • KDE Applications in openSUSE Patterns
  • SUSE-specific applications, will we see Qt4/KDE4 ports of these applications - and when?
    • openSUSE Updater KDE (done by Dirk and Thomas)
    • YaST Qt4 Frontend (Coolo and Duncan worked on it, in Alpha 1)
    • SaX2 (Tom ported it, is in Alpha 2)
    • Sumf
    • kinternet (likely to be dropped)
  • SUSE-maintained applications
    • Kerry (beineri)
    • KNetworkManager (bille)
    • Kdebluetooth (tom)
    • kpowersave (Danny will port it to KDE4 before 11.0)

Keeping Up-to-Date

• Integrate theming for each release
• Provide as much of openSUSE/SLED release theme functionality (if any) as possible
• Utilize new version features of infrastructure like
  • NetworkManager 0.7 (and finally dump kinternet)
• KDE Frontends for SUSE specific funtionality
  • AppArmor Applet
  • Firewall Applet
  • Include openSUSE-Xgl-Settings or alike functionality in core distribution
• Integrate with new/raising desktop standards/infrastructure like
  • ConsoleKit
  • PolicyKit
  • PackageKit (in krpmview, ...)
  • Help Spec
  • Xesam
  • PulseAudio