Error using "--generate" option to system-config-kickstart

[Andy Bold]

Not sure if this is one error or several. Apologies if it should have been several!

Wanting to save an existing configuration I ran "system-config-kickstart
--generate myserver-ks.cfg" and got the following error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/share/system-config-kickstart/system-config-kickstart.py", line 58,
in ?
    useCliMode(value)
  File "/usr/share/system-config-kickstart/system-config-kickstart.py", line 41,
in useCliMode
    import profileSystem
  File "/usr/share/system-config-kickstart/profileSystem.py", line 23, in ?
    import language_backend
ImportError: No module named language_backend

Looks like there is a dependency on system-config-language, which doesn't appear
to be available to Ubuntu.

Simple hack, commented out the calls to language_backend:

--- profileSystem.py 2005-04-09 17:15:36.499703768 +0100
+++ profileSystem.py.new 2005-04-09 17:20:07.593491248 +0100
@@ -19,14 +19,14 @@
 import string
 import sys
 import os
-# sys.path.append("/usr/share/system-config-language")
-# import language_backend
+sys.path.append("/usr/share/system-config-language")
+import language_backend
 import mouse

 class ProfileSystem:
     def __init__(self, kickstartData):
         self.kickstartData = kickstartData
- # self.languageBackend = language_backend.LanguageBackend()
+ self.languageBackend = language_backend.LanguageBackend()
         self.mouse = mouse()

         self.getLang()
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
         self.kickstartData.setClearPart(["--linux"])

     def getLang(self):
- # default, langs = self.languageBackend.getInstalledLangs()
+ default, langs = self.languageBackend.getInstalledLangs()
         self.kickstartData.setLang([default])
         self.kickstartData.setDefaultLang(default)
         self.kickstartData.setLangSupport(langs)

Re-running the generate command I get a different error:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/share/system-config-kickstart/system-config-kickstart.py", line 58,
in ?
    useCliMode(value)
  File "/usr/share/system-config-kickstart/system-config-kickstart.py", line 43,
in useCliMode
    profileSystem = profileSystem.ProfileSystem(data)
  File "/usr/share/system-config-kickstart/profileSystem.py", line 30, in __init__
    self.mouse = mouse()
TypeError: 'module' object is not callable

I am using version 2.5.20-0ubuntu10 of system-config-kickstart. Python is
version 2.4.1.

[Johann Petrak (johann-petrak)]

I also hit this bug -- it makes the whole package more or less unusable.
Version of system-conf-kickstart: 2.5.20-0ubuntu14
Depends: python (<< 2.5), python (>= 2.4), python-gtk2, python-glade2, console-data, hwdata, iso-codes, localechooser-data, python-apt

[Paul Dufresne (paulduf)]

I get the same results, BUT:

I don't really understand why you think --generate is a valid option.
man system-config-kickstart tells me that there is no options.

As I understand it, you just have to use Save file in File menu to
select the name of the configuration file.

Now, it is possible that there is really undocumented option.
Is it, or have you some documentation showing this option?

[Éric Lemoine (elemoine)]

I also get this language_backend error when executing system-config-kickstart --generate. On Edgy.

[Johann Petrak (johann-petrak)]

According to system-config-kickstart --help, the --generate option is valid: "
--generate <filename> Generate a kickstart file from the current machine and write"

The GUI does not seem to generate anything from the current configuration so this option is quite useful, if not essential.

[Jonathan Anderson (jonathan-anderson)]

"I also hit this bug -- it makes the whole package more or less unusable"... sounds Confirmed to me.

[towsonu2003 (towsonu2003)]

is this fixed on feisty?

[olly (o-klein)]

something new to this bug? has anyone a functionally kickstart.cfg for me???

[Colin Watson (cjwatson)]

Sorry for the delay in getting this fixed. I've just uploaded a fix to Intrepid.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package system-config-kickstart - 2.5.20-0ubuntu18

---------------
system-config-kickstart (2.5.20-0ubuntu18) intrepid; urgency=low

  * Fix --generate option for Ubuntu (LP: #15156).
    - Read language information from /etc/default/locale and
      /var/lib/locales/supported.d/.
    - Read keyboard information from /etc/default/console-setup.
    - Don't read mouse configuration from anywhere; we autodetect in nearly
      all cases anyway.
    - Read timezone information from /etc/timezone.
    - Deal with the root password being disabled.

 -- Colin Watson <email address hidden> Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:41:53 +0100