Thread: ubuntu software center

I just installed ubuntu 11.04. I went to the software center and
searched for "sql", and postgresql isn't there, but mysql is. Same if I
search for "database" (though a few PG clients show up). If I search for
"postgres", a few clients appear, but not the server.

It looks like maybe postgresql got labeled as one of the "technical
items" to hide, among hundreds of others in a search for SQL.

If I search for "postgresql" I finally see:

   object-relational SQL database (supported version)

There are a few things I don't like about that description, either. For
one, I don't like calling postgres "object-relational," though that's
probably a larger question because it appears other places in our
documentation. And second, "supported version" is just a little
confusing in the title -- the MySQL package is a virtual package as
well, but it says so in the brief description rather than the title.

Thoughts?

Regards,
    Jeff Davis

On tor, 2011-05-05 at 10:20 -0700, Jeff Davis wrote:
> I just installed ubuntu 11.04. I went to the software center and
> searched for "sql", and postgresql isn't there, but mysql is. Same if I
> search for "database" (though a few PG clients show up). If I search for
> "postgres", a few clients appear, but not the server.
>
> It looks like maybe postgresql got labeled as one of the "technical
> items" to hide, among hundreds of others in a search for SQL.
>
> If I search for "postgresql" I finally see:
>
>    object-relational SQL database (supported version)
>
> There are a few things I don't like about that description, either. For
> one, I don't like calling postgres "object-relational," though that's
> probably a larger question because it appears other places in our
> documentation. And second, "supported version" is just a little
> confusing in the title -- the MySQL package is a virtual package as
> well, but it says so in the brief description rather than the title.

I'm sure if you send them a few bug reports about this, it can be
addressed.  I don't think they somehow favor MySQL or something; it's
just that that particular package management frontend interprets the
metadata in that particular way.

On 05/05/2011 01:20 PM, Jeff Davis wrote:
> I just installed ubuntu 11.04. I went to the software center and
> searched for "sql", and postgresql isn't there, but mysql is. Same if I
> search for "database" (though a few PG clients show up). If I search for
> "postgres", a few clients appear, but not the server.
>
> It looks like maybe postgresql got labeled as one of the "technical
> items" to hide, among hundreds of others in a search for SQL.
>
> If I search for "postgresql" I finally see:
>
>     object-relational SQL database (supported version)
>

11.04?  That's brave.  As far as I know Ubuntu's software center is just
pulling that data from the Debian packages.  For example, this is from a
Debian squeeze system:

$ sudo dpkg -l postgresql
||/ Name                     Version                  Description
+++-========================-========================-================================================================
ii  postgresql               8.4.7-0squeeze2          object-relational
SQL database (supported version)

And there's that same slightly weird text.  You'll find it and the rest
of the description at http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/postgresql-8.4
too.  I'm not sure where the data they're running the search against it
as; maybe there is some Ubuntu-only state here.

But chasing after Ubuntu as the first target is probably not the best
approach.  The PostgreSQL community has a good relationship with Martin
Pitt, maintainer of the Debian package for PostgreSQL.  (Or at least we
did until everyone started complaining about the readline change)  If we
think there's some improvements to be made in the wording/classification
here, shortest path to fix that is to submit a patch to the metadata
files, with updated text, to him.  That certainly will fix the shared
short/long description.  Once that gets merged, and I can't imagine it
won't be, Ubuntu will just pick it up on their next Debian harvest.  If
we find the metadata to fix all the stuff you mentioned, done at that
point.  If not, then maybe go looking for things specific to searches of
their Software Center.

--
Greg Smith   2ndQuadrant US    greg@2ndQuadrant.com   Baltimore, MD
PostgreSQL Training, Services, and 24x7 Support  www.2ndQuadrant.us
"PostgreSQL 9.0 High Performance": http://www.2ndQuadrant.com/books