same dance different partner/music/ -- "runlevel" vs. "role" vs. "profile"

Asked by SaintDanBert

It seems to me that "runlevels" and "startup profiles" (see blueprint) and "role based startup" (see blueprint)
are variations on the same theme. Have I missed something?
Having asked that, let me digress and discuss these issues from perhaps another point of view.

When one goes on a camping trip, one gathers and carries all sort of things against the opportunity that
they are needed. So called "primitive" camp sites present one set of opportunities. Other "car camping"
sites present another set of opportunities. [Yes, I'm using camping as a metaphor for workstation startup.]

On the one hand, I can assert "I want to use my workstation for the following things ..." I can make that assertion
regardless of my inventory of hardware and software. Automatic hardware discovery will make whichever devices
that I present available after some fashion, does it make sense that we have on file an "I want to ..." list so that
hardware discovery might advise, "Something is wrong, Dave, ... You want to do ... but I don't find ..." Having
been admonished, one can either connect the missing pieces or tell Hal (pun intended) to ignore the situation.
Hal can then insist, "... but you cannot type without a keyboard ... or a screen-tap keyboard ... do you want that ..."
and so on.

Similarly, I might assert "I have the following hardware and applications ..." and similarly, Hal and friends can
discover which supporting hardware and software will be needed to make those things active and available.
Again, if there is a mismatch of findings vs. expectations, a suitable complaint from _____ would alert the
unsuspecting end-user that important parts that should be present were not found as expected.

In days of olde, we have all restarted a workstation and pounded on the keyboard without response only to discover
that we had failed to connect the PS/2 or AT [or EIA or Current-loop] connector and had no keyboard. If the
workstation had available an "I want ..." or "I have ..." or similar expression of expectations, the end-user
would get a suitable warning to provide what is needed or take other actions.

Cheers,
~~~ 0;-Dan

By the way, having "the voice of Hal [Kubric, 2001] (or vixen of choice) announce happenings might be very valuable to those
who have trouble seeing or reading a live boot log. Geeky geeks would likely use it too.] ~~~ 8d;->

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Scott James Remnant (Canonical) (canonical-scott) said :
#1

I'm not sure I follow this one, sorry.

Scott
--
Have you ever, ever felt like this?
Had strange things happen? Are you going round the twist?

Can you help with this problem?

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