Bug#1059457:
> > If qemu-system-gui package is already installed you can just look at the l > in it, - the list gives a good hint. It should, - I hope anyway - be > enough to read the > description already. At the very least, almost no one looks at READMEs > inside packages, > but some do look at the descriptions, especially before installing something. > Maybe > the description should be improved a bit. Okay... it sounds like we're approaching agreement here. I _did_ read the package description of qemu-system-gui (before creating this bug) and I'm still not clear what the package is for, or whether I should install it. I have a suspicion that this is an important (for qemu) package, but I'm unclear about how/why. I created this bug to say in essence that I think the documentation of this package needs to be improved. I don't have my heart set on README.Debian as the means of doing it. I would be happy with an improved package description. I would be willing to submit a patch, if/when I understand the package enough that I could compose such documentation. > Let's use another example. qemu-system-arm recommends (or suggests, don't > but let's assume it is Recommends) samba. The reason is that qemu can us > mode to share a directory on the host to the guest system it is running. > samba should carry a README explaining how it is used with qemu-system-arm To follow this example-- I think samba should contain documentation explaining its primary purpose. I suspect it does. If there was a package called something like qemu-system-samba, I would expect that its primary purpose would be something directly related to qemu, and I would hope its documentation would explain how to use it with qemu. > Your question comes from the lack of understanding what qemu itself is > and how to use it. That's for sure! I've never used qemu before. I've used virtualbox and VMWare in the past. > (and this is obvious from the list of files in the package). I've had a lot of people on the internet lately tell me that something I'm confused about is "obvious". Usually it means "if you've used this thing for as many years as I have, it's obvious". > https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/system/invocation.html#hxtool-3 is the > part relevant to > this context - qemu-system-gui provides sdl and gtk *modules* for qemu- > system-* packages Ah, yes! This URL (and the fact that you suggested it) are very informative. Would it be correct to say: This package enables the "gtk" and "sdl" display types used with the "-display" argument of qemu ? If that is accurate, I think a sentence like that would be exactly the kind of addition to the qemu-system-gui documentation that I'm looking for (whether it's the package description, or README.Debian, or some other place)
Bug#1059457:
27.12.2023 06:55, Brian Sammon : I fear that my bug report has sounded like a criticism or an argument. I apologize for that. Nope, I haven't interpreted your report as a criticism or argument (and I've nothing at all against a criticism either). Let me try to further describe my dilemma. I want to use qemu. I read the description of qemu-system-arm, and I believe that is a package that I want to use. The packager of qemu-system-arm appears to believe that I should use qemu-system-gui, since qemu-system-arm "recommends" qemu-system-gui. I've looked into qemu-system-gui, and I can't figure out what it does. Is it a VM-launcher app? Something else? Now I agree that I shouldn't be using a package that I don't understand. So how do I learn what qemu-system-gui is, so I can decide whether to follow the recommendation of qemu-system-arm and use it? If I can't understand what qemu-system-gui is, does that mean that I'm better off using qemu without qemu-system-gui? Let's use another example. qemu-system-arm recommends (or suggests, don't remember anymore, but let's assume it is Recommends) samba. The reason is that qemu can use samba in certain mode to share a directory on the host to the guest system it is running. Does this mean samba should carry a README explaining how it is used with qemu-system-arm? If qemu-system-gui package is already installed you can just look at the list of files contained in it, - the list gives a good hint. It should, - I hope anyway - be enough to read the description already. At the very least, almost no one looks at READMEs inside packages, but some do look at the descriptions, especially before installing something. Maybe the description should be improved a bit. Your question comes from the lack of understanding what qemu itself is and how to use it. https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/system/invocation.html#hxtool-3 is the part relevant to this context - qemu-system-gui provides sdl and gtk *modules* for qemu-system-* packages (and this is obvious from the list of files in the package). And no, I don't know how to use gui with qemu-system-arm. Many arm boards don't have standard VGA devices. /mjt
Bug#1059457:
I fear that my bug report has sounded like a criticism or an argument. I apologize for that. Let me try to further describe my dilemma. I want to use qemu. I read the description of qemu-system-arm, and I believe that is a package that I want to use. The packager of qemu-system-arm appears to believe that I should use qemu-system-gui, since qemu-system-arm "recommends" qemu-system-gui. I've looked into qemu-system-gui, and I can't figure out what it does. Is it a VM-launcher app? Something else? Now I agree that I shouldn't be using a package that I don't understand. So how do I learn what qemu-system-gui is, so I can decide whether to follow the recommendation of qemu-system-arm and use it? If I can't understand what qemu-system-gui is, does that mean that I'm better off using qemu without qemu-system-gui?
Bug#1059457: closed by Michael Tokarev (Re: Bug#1059457: qemu-system-gui: README.Debian or manpage needed)
The problem is: The package is recommended by qemu-system-*, but I can't figure out why, or what it adds. So I'm faced with either "install a package which I don't know how to use", or ignore the recommend. And... if I don't know how to use it, how do I figure out how to use it if there's no documentation?
Bug#1059457: qemu-system-gui: README.Debian or manpage needed
Package: qemu-system-gui Severity: normal Dear Maintainer, This package could really use a README.Debian or something to explain how to use it. Perhaps it's because I'm not using a standard desktop environment like Gnome or KDE, but I can't figure out what this package does. It doesn't seem to install a program in /usr/bin/ , for example. -- Brian Sammon
