progress indication is inaccurate

[Matt Zimmerman]

Binary package hint: usplash

Currently, the usplash progress bar works as follows:

1. Early userspace, measured by using one horizontal pixel on the progress bar for each of an indeterminate number of steps of variable duration
2. Runlevel S, using 2/3N of the remaining progress bar for each of the N init scripts to be run
3. Runlevel 2, using 1/M of the remaining progress bar for each of the M init scripts which run before gdm

Phases (2) and (3) work reasonably well (though the ratio could perhaps be tweaked based on modern measurements), but (1) does not provide a good experience. Some of the steps take several seconds, during which the user is given no indication of system activity, and early userspace is responsible for a much larger fraction of the total boot time than is indicated by the progress bar.

I suggest replacing (1) with a simple pulsating progress bar, as is done in casper.

[Scott James Remnant (Canonical) (canonical-scott)]

casper (1.110ubuntu1) hardy; urgency=low

  * Remove code to set the progress bar to throbbing, this now comes as
    standard so we don't need to duplicate it or override things that
    attempted to set progress. LP: #162397.

 -- Scott James Remnant <email address hidden> Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:49:31 +0000

[Scott James Remnant (Canonical) (canonical-scott)]

initramfs-tools (0.85eubuntu21) hardy; urgency=low

  * Drop code to increment the usplash progress bar after each message,
    instead this will be pulsating until the real system. LP: #162397.

 -- Scott James Remnant <email address hidden> Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:41:33 +0000

[Scott James Remnant (Canonical) (canonical-scott)]

sysvinit (2.86.ds1-14.1ubuntu32) hardy; urgency=low

  * The initramfs now uses a pulsating throbber rather than part of the
    progress, so don't allocate a portion to that and instead just divide
    the entire bar up. LP: #162397.

 -- Scott James Remnant <email address hidden> Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:54:34 +0000

[Scott James Remnant (Canonical) (canonical-scott)]

usplash (0.5.8) hardy; urgency=low

  * Set the usplash progress bar to pulsating after starting in the
    initramfs; we have a random number of steps that will take a random
    amount of time, it makes no sense to fake progress. LP: #162397.

 -- Scott James Remnant <email address hidden> Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:44:12 +0000

[Scott James Remnant (Canonical) (canonical-scott)]

casper (1.111) hardy; urgency=low

  * Remove code to set the progress bar to throbbing, this now comes as
    standard so we don't need to duplicate it or override things that
    attempted to set progress. LP: #162397.

 -- Scott James Remnant <email address hidden> Tue, 13 Nov 2007 20:49:31 +0000