D-Installer is the new installer for openSUSE and SUSE
The developers of the openSUSE project announced through a publication, the launch of the first tests of its new installer “D-Installer” (which we have already talked about here on the blog), in addition to inviting users to participate in the tests of the new D-Installer installer.
The new installer stands out for separating the user interface from the internals of YaST and provide the ability to use multiple front ends, including a front end to manage the installation through a web interface.
The installer is moving towards openSUSE Factory and will arrive on a customizable Linux platform prototype at a later date. The installer, which the YaST team refers to as D-Installer, has images of the installer for testing and looks for information/feedback via a feedback guide.
There are several sets of instructions in the guide that are intended to get feedback on the next generation installer.
the libraries of YaST continue to be used to install packages, verify equipment, participate disks and other functions necessary for installation, in addition to which a layer is implemented that abstracts access to libraries through a unified D-Bus interface.
The basic interface for plant management is built using web technologies and includes a controller that provides access to D-Bus calls over HTTP and the web interface itself. The web interface is written in JavaScript using the React framework and PatternFly components.
The service to bind the interface to D bus, and the embedded http server, are written in ruby and built using out-of-the-box modules developed by the Cockpit project, which are also used in Red Hat web configurators. The installer uses a multithreaded architecture so that the user interface does not hang while other work is being done.
The team is also looking to rename the D-Installer to another name and a Tweet from openSUSE asks people to suggest a new name. The D-Installer visually verifies the installation setup at a glance and is one of the key areas the release team would like the community to focus on in the coming weeks.
A workshop for installers was scheduled during a community meeting on November 8th. People can use this feedback guide to test items for the next installer and provide feedback on the document or during the workshop.
Among the development goals of D-Installer are the elimination of the existing limitations of the graphical interface, the expansion of the possibilities of using the YaST functionality in other applications, no longer being tied to a programming language (the API of D-Bus will allow creating plug-ins in different languages) and encouraging the creation of alternative environments by members of the community.
Of the features that need improvementAre the tools to inform the user about errors that occur and organize interactive interaction in the work process (for example, displaying a password prompt when an encrypted partition is detected). Plans also include ability to change the behavior of different stages depending on the selected product or system function (for example, for MicroOS, a read-only partition is used).
Finally, it is worth mentioning that for those who want to know the new installer or want to contribute their grain of sand in the tests.
They should know that installation images are prepared for x86_64 architectures (598MB) and Aarch64/ARM64 (614MB). The downloaded image allows you to install three platforms: openSUSE Leap 15.4 stable release, openSUSE Tumbleweed rolling build, and Leap Micro 5.2 edition built on isolated containers (x86_64 only).
In the future, the new installer is planned to be used in products based on ALP (Adaptable Linux Platform), which will replace the SUSE Linux Enterprise distribution.
If you are interested in knowing more about it, you can consult the details In the following link.