Features/SystemConfigCleanup

Feature Name

System Configuration Tools Cleanup Project.

Summary

Fedora includes several system configuration tools (system-config-*). Each of these configuration tools should be reviewed and then fixed according usability rules.

This effort includes:

• GUI look & feel consistency
• elimination of not used tools
• better functionality

Owner

• Jaroslav Reznik (jreznik AT redhat DOT com)
• Roman Rakus (rrakus AT redhat DOT com)

Current status

• Targeted release: Fedora 42
• Last updated: 2009-05-19
• Percentage of completion: 25%

What's already done:

• reviews
• common bugs reports
• some bugfixes

What have to be done:

• specific bugs reports
• and bugfixing

Bug fixing status

Detailed Description

There are several system configuration tools in Fedora which differs in terms of functionality, look and feel and quality. The aim of this project is to enhance this tools - unify look and feel, add better functionality and raise overall quality. Some of these tools are even obsoleted now.

The idea is to cleanup our system configuration tools in these areas:

Consistent look & feel

• Follow Gnome Human Interface Guidelines http://library.gnome.org/devel/hig-book/stable/
• Consistently use dialog/application style
• Make system config tools look/behave similar
  • Similar application window design
  • Ok/Apply buttons
  • Reverting changes
  • etc.

Tools to eliminate

The goal is to eliminate the config tools as much as possible and replace them with code that can dynamically detect system state, such as the way s-c-mouse is gone and eliminate old obsoleted system config tools.

Benefit to Fedora

System configuration tools are very visible parts of Fedora and high quality management tools could attract more users from competitor's operating systems. Also this project will help current Fedora users to maintain their systems in more efficient way.

Scope

This project affects many system configuration tools and requires lot of cooperation of developers and maintainers. It is long term project so it should be divided to phases to be complete in time for Fedora release.

Phase 1

Phase 1 should consist from reviewing tools and fixing most visible and annoying bugs.

Phase 2 & 3

Port missing s-c-* tools to Policy Kit. Rewrite some tools from scratch - new features etc...

There is feature tracker in Bugzilla.

List of changed configuration tools with current maintainers.

How To Test

• For each component will be reported bugs and they can be used as sources for testing.
• Visual test - run some s-c-* tool and check if it is easy to use, if it has consistent look etc.

User Experience

This project will help Fedora users to maintain their systems in more efficient way. It's aimed on user which are not comfortable with manual configuration by editing configuration files by hand.

Dependencies

This feature depends on responsibility of s-c-* tools maintainers. We're trying to provide as many patches as we can prepare to help them.

Bugzilla tracker bug: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=480902

Contingency Plan

This project can run continuously. More bugs fixed -> better. In case of s-c-* toolrewrite from scratch old version could be used.

Documentation

(Nearly) every system configuration tool has own documentation. This documentation has to be updated to reflect all changes.