Re: Notifying post-install tools about screens seen by the user

This is a great idea and I'd like to contribute the following thoughts based on the discussion up to this point.

> From: "Martin Kolman" <[email protected]>
> To: [email protected]
> Sent: Thursday, November 5, 2015 10:59:07 AM
> Subject: Notifying post-install tools about screens seen by the user
> Manual installation description file proposal
> 
> * use the "INI file like" config file format
> - can be easily parsed from Python using the configparser module
> - should be also easy to parse from C and other programming languages
>   due to widespread use of INI files
> * stored in /etc/anaconda/manual_installation.ini

The /etc directory is for running system configuration per the FHS and, although a user is choosing configuration information, it is stored elsewhere on the system and is no longer apropos after installation and first boot processes are completed.

For these reasons I would recommend using Pat Riehecky's suggestion of sticking with Anaconda Class Names and putting the files here:
    /var/log/anaconda/interactive/{ClassName}.conf


> From: "David Cantrell" <[email protected]>
> To: "Discussion of Development and Customization of the Red Hat Linux Installer" <[email protected]>
> Sent: Friday, November 6, 2015 4:41:07 AM
> Subject: Re: Notifying post-install tools about screens seen by the user
> The downside to that is that we'd start overloading kickstart with UX
> metadata, which seems unnecessary.  That and the parser for it is Python
> only, which would make it difficult for programs like g-i-s.  I think we can
> probably do this with VARIABLE=VALUE syntax

I agree with David that the file should have a syntax VARIABLE=VALUE rather than the INI syntax. The variable's scope is handled by the aforementioned ClassName.conf convention.

It makes sense to note that a user visited a spoke and I agree with the folks who have made the case to note whether something was explictly chosen. Using the established Time Zone example and assuming Boston is default:

  TZ=US/BOSTON
  TZ_DEFAULT=1

  TZ=US/NEW YORK
  TZ_DEFAULT=0

The explicit benefit here is decoupling consumers of the file from a forced knowledge of Anaconda defaults should they change in the future.

--Rob