The developers of the openSUSE project have published a new release of the Agama installer (formerly D-Installer), developed to replace the classic installation interface of SUSE and openSUSE, and notable for the separation of the user interface from the internal components of YaST. Agama provides the ability to use various frontends, for example, a frontend for managing the installation via a web interface. To install packages, check equipment, partition disks and other functions necessary for installation, YaST libraries continue to be used, on top of which layer services are implemented that abstract access to libraries through a unified D-Bus interface.
For testing, live builds with a new installer (x86_64, ARM64) have been created that support the installation of a continuously updated build of openSUSE Tumbleweed, as well as editions of openSUSE Leap Micro, SUSE ALP and openSUSE Leap 16, built on isolated containers.
The basic interface for plant management is built using web technologies and includes a handler that provides access to D-Bus calls via HTTP, and the web interface itself. The web interface is written in JavaScript using the React framework and PatternFly components. The service for binding the interface to D-Bus, as well as the built-in http server, are written in Ruby and built using ready-made modules developed by the Cockpit project, which are also used in Red Hat web configurators. The installer uses a multi-process architecture that ensures that the user interface is not blocked while other work is being done.
At the current stage of development, the installer offers services responsible for managing the installation process, setting up the product content and the list of installed programs, setting the language, keyboard and localization settings, preparing the storage device and partitioning, displaying hints and auxiliary information, adding users to the system, settings network connections.
Agama's development goals include eliminating existing GUI limitations, expanding the ability to use YaST functionality in other applications, moving away from being tied to one programming language (the D-Bus API will allow you to create add-ons in different languages), and encouraging the creation of alternative settings by community members.
It was decided to make the Agama interface as simple as possible for the user; among other things, the ability to selectively install packages was removed. Currently, developers are discussing possible options for implementing a simpler interface for selecting installed programs (the main option is a prototype for separating categories based on typical usage patterns, for example, graphical environments, tools for containers, tools for developers, etc.).
Source: opennet.ru