on nmcli improvements or needs of improvement

[Xen <list xenhideout nl>]

Francesco Giudici schreef op 17-05-2016 23:39:
> Hi,
>   a couple of months ago we launched the survey on NetworkManager 
> usage.
> We want to share a short summary of the main outcomes:
> https://people.freedesktop.org/~fgiudici/NMsurvey/
>
> It is also available in pdf format if you prefer:
> https://people.freedesktop.org/~fgiudici/NMsurvey/NM_survey_summary.pdf
>
> We received 1318 responses, many with comments and advice that we'll
> consider for future NetworkManager versions.

Amazing that you have done such a detailed survey. I'm sorry I wasn't 
there to contribute :p.



I feel the nmcli improvements that you reference in the document do not 
amount to much.

I'm not sure if you are out for hearing an opinion, but.....

You state that your goal is to retain backwards compatibility.

But just as with Git (...) this primarily means you cannot improve or 
revamp the command (verb) structure and I think the verbs are just very 
hard to use.

I feel, if anything, if you wanted to improve the current command based 
interface, you would have to do the following:

1. Create a menu based (nCurses) interface
2. It doesn't have to be graphical, it is just about the structure
3. Perfect the menu structure to the point where it actually works 
really well
4. Use the new menu to inform or inspire the current command structure.

Since your current command structure is hard to change without good 
reason, you would have to get some form of proof that something else can 
be better.

Now since the menu interface would at once be easy to make (without 
graphics) and no one is actually using it yet, it is a new thing, you 
are free to do with it whatever you want. A menu is something that 
displays common and possible options you can use, at all times.

That means you can use it to complement nmcli while you are developing 
it, in fact, you can execute or effectuate its commands using or through 
the existing nmcli (that you are familiar with).

In this sense you can create something that will
a. never be used by scripts
b. be allowed to morph into perfection
c. reveal the perfect interface you really want nmcli to have.

If you find that your menu interface starts to differ from what nmcli 
offers (even though they might or need to be the same) you will realize 
that that new thing you choose is going to be better or more intuitive, 
and hence, eventually you might find a solid reason to change the same 
in nmcli as well.

If you still need to.

But this time you will have proof of concept and you are not just 
'randomly' changing things based on your current ideas.

Just my thoughts.

Regards.