About Welcome updates

Development Discussion
#1

1. Where can I learn about each update to Welcome before I download it?
I often have to carefully manage my monthly plan and sometimes I find myself in the need of delaying some updates in favor of others in order to conserve bandwidth. While I appreciate updates to the Welcome application, I consider it nonessential compared to other tooling in my computer. If I can read the release notes of this update I will be able to make a more informed decision when I should download it.

2. What’s the rationale behind a 10 Mb download of the Welcome application?
Are we receiving a compiled binary on every upgrade? Can the application be made more modular so that updates are smaller in size? In understand 10 Mb isn’t much. In my home country that’s nothing when I can benefit from a unlimited plan for 60 USD a month. But here in Angola where I am currently working, a 2GB monthly plan costs a little over 60 USD. With all the ever increasing costs of web browsing, other internet activities and the fact I am a software developer, 2 GB rarely sustain me through the whole month and I’m forced to an internet expense over 100 USD monthly, sometimes into the 200 USD. I am always on the lookout of ways to reduce every Mb I can from my usage.

3. Are there any plans for the Software Updater application to include information on each update?

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#2

Very good questions. The answers:

1 - Where can I learn about each update to Welcome before I download it?

For updates, check out the change log against that package:

Unfortunately Software Updater does not has the ability to read the change log from PPAs or external sources… just the official archive. :frowning:

For non-updates and those provided in official archives (which are rarely updated), see this instead:

Of course, for application updates, the Boutique News is designed to summarise those changes.

2 - What’s the rationale behind a 10 Mb download of the Welcome application?

It’s due to how Debian packaging works. Installing updates for any new software will download a brand new “complete” package each time, even if there were only a few tiny changes. It then unpacks and replaces the files with the new versions.

Snaps should be a desirable solution, since they’re smart to only download what’s changed, and not the entire thing every time.

3 - Are there any plans for the Software Updater application to include information on each update?

This would have to be asked to the wider Ubuntu community, or filed as a bug/feature request. I wish for this too!

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#3

Quite, but I don’t think it’ll be useful for @marfig since, correct me if I’m wrong, you only see the changes after the update.

Do you know the correct place to submit such a feature request? I also wish for this.

For a while now I have taken up the habit to check the descriptions provided by the software updater (especially when bug fixes for CVEs are released) and that’s something that people coming from Windows will definitively enjoy since W10 has made the process impossible.
Sad that the updates from external PPAs.

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#4

Thanks @lah7.

I’ve saved the two launchpad links.

That’s what I feared. Ubuntu has grown too large not to drag its feet around feature requests. But I’ll check it out and give it a go, of course (or add my name if that request has already been made).

#5

For the Software Updater requests, after 8 years it’s still hasn’t been added! Click the “This affects me too” button here:

#6

Thanks. It is Done. :]

1 Like
#7

Some coincidences are spooky. Would you believe that after 8 years and right as we were talking about it, upstream has finally fixed it this week? :raised_hands:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/launchpad/+bug/253119

It’s done :slight_smile:

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#8

I know! :raised_hands: I was going to report back here but I forgot where this topic was.

I hope this could be backported to Trusty, but I nearly introduced a dependencies mess trying to install Yakkety’s version… I’ll wait for the next release. :slight_smile:

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