Minaptic Software Installer

[curtis]

Say you know the exact name of a package you want to install. You have two choices: either open up Synaptic, then search for the package, select for installation, click apply, then wait for it to install, or you would have to open up a terminal and install it using apt-get. Both of these options have many cons: using Synaptic, there are many steps involved and it isn't the fastest to load, and a terminal isn't exactly the friendliest interface. This is the reason I have created Minaptic.

Minaptic means mini Synaptic. It is a lightweight alternative to both the options mentioned above, and also provides a nice interface. Minaptic is quick to start and can be used to install, auto-remove and remove packages. All you have to do to install a package, say 'lxpanel', is open up Minaptic, type 'lxpanel', press enter, and 'lxpanel' gets installed. Minaptic displays the output of 'apt-get', the command line tool it uses to install software, in a progress bar shown while the package is being installed. If the package fails to install, you are notified and presented with a 'Retry' button, and an 'Information' button. The information button displays the output of apt-get all in one dialog. Minaptic also features package name completion. If you don't know the exact package name, you can type the first few letters and Minaptic will suggest names of packages in a drop-down.

Now that all the explaining is done...

I would really appreciate it if anyone who has some spare time try Minaptic and post their feedback. Minaptic is currently version 0.2.1. It can be downloaded from http://programble.co.cc/downloads/linuxutils/minaptic/Minaptic.py.

Minaptic is a single python script. It must be run as root, and will notify you if it is not. Make sure Minaptic.py is executable, and if not, run 'chmod +x /path/to/Minaptic.py'.

I would also like to know if anyone is experienced in creating .deb packages for python scripts. I have seen many tutorials, but they are all for programs written in C or C++. If anyone knows anything about this, please post.

Here are some screen shots of Minaptic in action:

The lightweight Minaptic interface.

Screenshot-Minaptic.png (11.96 KiB) Viewed 1436 times

Minaptic in the process of installing a package,

Screenshot-Minaptic-1.png (15.55 KiB) Viewed 1436 times

Minaptic after attempting to install a non-existent package.

Screenshot-Minaptic-2.png (17.62 KiB) Viewed 1438 times

I look forward to reading your feedback.

Curtis

[richyrich]

Looks good Curtis. Small, easy to understand, I like it. . . . but . . . this is already built into Gloria's mintMenu. I just have to type a name into the filter, and it gives me the option to install, just one click.

Sorry, I mean no dis-respect, as this will be a great addition for those who do not use Mint. And besides, I'm a nobody!

regards, Richard

ps: a good link for building deb packages: http://www.debian.org/doc/maint-guide/

[curtis]

Thanks for your feedback. There is in fact one feature in Minaptic that mintMenu does not have. The package name completion. The mintMenu just takes any text you type and assumes it is a package, where as Minaptic will display a list of all the packages. Also, I don't currently have a mintMenu since I am running Openbox.

PS. You are not a nobody.

[exploder]

This could be a nice application for a light desktop environment. Very impressive work!

[DrHu]

Say you know the exact name of a package you want to install. You have two choices: either open up Synaptic, then search for the package, select for installation, click apply, then wait for it to install, or you would have to open up a terminal and install it using apt-get. Both of these options have many cons: using Synaptic, there are many steps involved and it isn't the fastest to load, and a terminal isn't exactly the friendliest interface. This is the reason I have created Minaptic.
I look forward to reading your feedback.

you are kidding, right?. How is this better than apt, when you know exactly which package name you want to install..
Don't you still need some idea of the package name you want, at least synaptic gives you a categories list on the left panel of its screen, which lets you wander thorough some categories, and that may be an easier way to locate specific application types

Or the other usual option search on the internet , like this
graphics linux
--you get this as the 2nd entry in google
http://www.linfo.org/software_artists.html
--or add the word software or application to the query, so that you don't also gets about hardware data
graphics software linux
http://www.linfo.org/software_artists.html
--now this becomes the 1st entry under an google search

About that other question..creating a *.deb package from python, the internet to the rescue
http://ghantoos.org/2008/10/19/creating ... n-setuppy/
http://showmedo.com/videotutorials/vide ... sMakingDeb
creating .deb packages for python scripts
--the query that got the above data

[emorrp1]

Hi curtis, that's a cool little app.

you are kidding, right?. How is this better than apt, when you know exactly which package name you want to install..

Some people will say because it has a GUI. I will probably still use apt, but there are loads of threads here complaining about the terminal, so it's good to offer alternatives for those who want it.

Don't you still need some idea of the package name you want, at least synaptic gives you a categories list on the left panel of its screen, which lets you wander thorough some categories, and that may be an easier way to locate specific application types

Yes, a simple search feature would be good, where the pop-down isn't just package completion, but the result of a search, as it's how I find some more obscure packages. Not sure if this would work useability-wise, as it would probably destroy the name completion, a cool feature. Perhaps just add a search button after the text input box.

I actually think this would be cool to integrate into the mintMenu as a plugin. Since the package name completion is often to do with an app, that would be an ok feature to put in the mintMenu search box. Even better would be to put it as the target of the "install this package" links when an app is not found, rather than starting up synaptic. For this to work your app would have to be able to take arguments and I haven't checked if it does already, so here's how it could work, replacing spaces with dashes (note that there's also a search for this package link, where you probably don't want to replace the spaces):

Code: Select all

package = '-'.join(sys.argv[1:])
search = ' '.join(sys.argv[1:])


As for packaging, I found the packaging guides are a bit pants. What I did was to take a similar mintTool, steal its debian files and then edit them, see http://github.com/emorrp1/hike-tracker/ ... 3a4/debian

[markcynt]

Looks like a nice little tool to me.

[curtis]

This could be a nice application for a light desktop environment. Very impressive work!

Thank you, exploder. This is the exact intention of Minaptic, to be a tool for lightweight desktop environments such as Openbox (My DE of choice).

Some people will say because it has a GUI. I will probably still use apt, but there are loads of threads here complaining about the terminal, so it's good to offer alternatives for those who want it.

This is true, many people prefer not to use the terminal. Minaptic provides a friendly GUI.

Thank you everyone else for your feedback.