Good news on the wiki front. : -) As of this morning, apt-urls are enabled on the Ubuntu Wiki. What does this mean? In simple terms, this feature provides a simple, wiki-based interface for apt, the base of our software management system. It means that we can now insert clickable links on the wiki that can prompt users to install software from the Ubuntu repositories. How cool is that?
How can you use this new feature? Here is an example of how you could use it in the wiki. In this example, we’ll look at installing the xubuntu-artwork package:
If you are an Ubuntu user who wants to use the stylish Xubuntu artwork on your system, just [[apt:xubuntu-artwork|install the "xubuntu-artwork" package]].
Of course, the end user just sees, “If you are an Ubuntu user who wants to use the stylish Xubuntu artwork on your system, just install the "xubuntu-artwork" package." (If you are a Firefox user on Ubuntu, you will also note that the link I’ve provided here works, too. This is because Firefox also allows apt-urls to work in regular web pages.)
After clicking on the link, the user would then be prompted to choose whether or not he or she wants to install the package. If they select yes, they are prompted to enter their password, and the system installs their software. Easy enough!
Because it is using apt, it is relying on the user’s configured set of Ubuntu repositories. (Note: if a user is using a PPA or another software repository, those software sources would also be available.) The installed packages can still be uninstalled via any of the regular software maintenance tools (e.g., synaptic, apt-get, add-remove programs, etc.) In this manner, it doesn’t introduce new tools, it just provides a great new way of interfacing with them.
So . . . wiki editors . . . I now call on you to go forth and make good use of this new feature. : -) Let’s start using apt-urls in our wiki documentation.
Thanks to the Canonical system administrators for putting this in place, and to Matthew East for following up on the support ticket.
“Because it is using apt, it is relying on the user’s regular set of Ubuntu repositories – it’s not installing software from some unknown, untrusted website.”
Doesn’t that assume a user hasn’t already configured additional repositories such as ppas or external apt repositories? You can’t really know if a user only has “regular” repositories configured can you?
-jef
Jef, that’s right. I’ll change the text to indicate that it relies on the user’s “configured” set of repositories, and that if they have PPA’s or alternate repositories in use, those will be used, too.
I wish I could install third party repos+gpg keys through apps > add.
..Like medibuntu, miro, transmission, google, etc. Right now adding third party repos isn’t as easy as it should be, and how many people don’t even bother with gpg keys for repos and just do everything in unauthenticated fashion? I’m guessing a lot.
Speaking of overcomplicating things, when is Ubuntu going to ship with an ‘install’ alias? Seriously.
alias install=’sudo apt-get install’
alias uninstall=’sudo apt-get remove’
alias update=’sudo apt-get update’
alias upgrade=’sudo apt-get upgrade’
..great work though– Clicking is certainly a lot better than copying and pasting, and I think this will make ubuntu documentation look that much more user friendly.
Just an FYI:
Packagekit developers have developed a packagekit browser plugin which does something similar.
If/when Ubuntu moves to Packagekit you should be aware of how the Packagekit browser plugin works so as to make an assessment of how to handle the migration of the wiki urls in an coordinated manner with a transition to PackageKit.
And more forward looking, you might be interested in the recent discussion about how to take SuSE’s one-click-install concept and apply it to the distribution-neutral PackageKit platform so that people can also easily install new repositories as well as packages from configured repositories. Something ppa creators and consumers might be interested in as a technology.
-jef
I think that people need to start really thinking creatively, coming up with more attractive ways to display programs, particularly games. Having apt:// gives us the ability to make any sorts of frontends to the package manager we want. We could make an interface for games with picture or video previews. We should make people more excited about playing games on Linux, perhaps that will bring up demand and get more developed.
http://www.playdeb.net/ offers a deb package which you can download as a normal file, run with GDebi (which works by default in FF) and it adds a new repository:
deb mirror://www.getdeb.net/playdeb-mirror/hardy/// hardy/
And that’s adding a new repository without exiting the browser… Or it looks like so for the average user
It is indeed possible to add a repository via an .deb.
About time the apt: links were allowed though! I don’t see PackageKit getting any love from me soon (god, it’s applet, design, and the main window which looks like a worse version of gnome-app-install look nothing but a downgrade. yes, from the developer pov, being able to ask the user in a cross-repo format to install an addon is nice. but from the users, it’s a downgrade atm.)