KPMcore 3.0.2 or later is now required to use Calamares

Feb 26, 2017 23:42 GMT  ·  By

The Calamares open-source universal installer framework for Linux-based operating systems has been updated recently to version 3.1, a major release the users of the KaOS GNU/Linux distribution can already enjoy if they download the latest ISO snapshot.

Calamares is a well-known distribution-independent system installer, a graphical installer for that matter, which OS vendors can easily implement on the live or installable ISO images of their GNU/Linux distros. The latest release, Calamares 3.1, is a major one implementing various improvements and new features, but also numerous bug fixes from the previous 3.0 stable series.

The biggest change in Calamares 3.1 appears to be the implementation of a brand-new PythonQt-based module interface, which allows those who want to create view modules for Calamares to build them in Python using Qt. As such, a new dependency for Calamares has been added, namely PythonQt, version 3.1 or higher, but built against Python 3 and Qt 5.

"The Calamares 3 series includes an all new PythonQt-based module interface," reads the release announcement. "The PythonQt interface is optional, and allows module developers to create view modules in Python with Qt. To build Calamares with PythonQt support, the -DWITH_PYTHONQT=ON parameter must be passed to the cmake call. PythonQt 3.1 or later (built against Qt 5 and Python 3) is required."

Here's what's new in Calamares 3.1

Prominent new features of Calamares 3.1 include the ability to disable the creation of SWAP partitions in the automated partitioning module, an improved user interface for the selection of package, support for editing a partition in the manual partitioning view by double-clicking with the mouse, much-improved checking of an available Internet connection, as well as better handling of packages.

When using Calamares 3.1, the installation of your Linux-based operating system will no longer fail if, for some reason, a single package can't be installed. This release also comes with an in-depth documentation for the dummypythonqt module to help developers build their PythonQt Calamares modules much more easily. System integrators should also note the fact that Calamares now only supports KPMcore 3.0.2 or later.