Bug 255745

I'm able to reproduce it just in a very few cases. I found just running 'Software Management' + "Graphics Card and Monitor" doesn't work; but the "Graphics Card and Monitor" starts after a long time (5 minutes?). When exactly it does not work for you? Could you please attach your yast logs? 
http://en.opensuse.org/Bugs/YaST

Please attach also output of 'pstree -a -p' from every test you will do.

Test 1:
Start YaST then Installation into directory. Go back to the YaST window and click "Security and Users". The items in the right pane will not change until the "Installation into directory" is closed.

Test 2:
Start YaST then go to Security/Firewall. Go back to the YaST window and click System. The items in the right pane will not change until the Firewall module is closed.

All of the above is reproducible.Perhaps we're integrating the new YaST/Control Center thing from SLESP1 in 10.3? If that's what you're testing and what will come with the next alpha of 10.3, this one can be closed.

Created attachment 125235 [details]
test 1

Created attachment 125236 [details]
test2

That seems to be the behaviour of that new yast2-control-center-gnome (which is maintained by Michael Meeks <mmeeks@novell.com>).
I suppose this is intentional.

For yast2-control-center-qt we had discussed that several times: Do we want to lock all of YaST2 as long as any module is open? Our conclusion had always been that we don't want that. I would suggest that the new yast2-control-center-gnome behaves similarly.

There are situations where the user can shoot himself into his foot if he has multiple YaST2 modules running at the same time, yes. For example, the sysconfig editor is a very generic tool that might change all files below /etc/sysconfig; most other YaST2 configuration modules write to one or more files below /etc/sysconfig, too. So if you have the sysconfig editor open and edit some network settings there and open the network module at the same time, the module that writes its settings last will win (and changes made in the other will get lost).

Such is life.

But then, this is no different from using several other tools in parallel. You can choose to edit any /etc/sysconfig file with "vi" while any other configuration tool (YaST2 or other) changes the same file. Worse, multiple users might try to configure the same machine at the same time; the one who saves his changes last will win.

This is something all configuration tools on a Linux system have in common. But then, this is a byproduct of having all configuration variables in text files -- which OTOH is one major feature of Unix/Linux systems: You don't need any sophisticated tools to change anything; simply use an editor. Or, if you prefer, use a higher-level tool such as the YaST2 sysconfig editor (only slightly more sophisticated to using "vi" for /etc/sysconfig files) or a dedicated YaST2 module that configures any specific subsystem.

The tools we provide do not substitute synchronizing and organizing system management tasks. The people (!) who manage a system have to talk to each other to agree who does what (and when) and who is responsible for what.

The same applies to one single person. Most users don't start a bunch of YaST2 modules just for fun; generally, they tend to want one task done like configure the network or install software. The latter task OTOH is so common that at times it does make sense to leave that module open just in case you need to install even more packages (during which time the RPM data base is locked, but that would only hurt for using "rpm" on the command line). Just think of a developer who gradually tries to figure out what packages to install to satisfy whatever some "configure" script wants. OTOH at the same time that user might find out that he has to configure some system service (e.g. ntp to make "make" shut up about time stamps in the future with files residing on NFS).

Bottom line: It makes a lot more sense to allow multiple YaST2 modules running at the same time than to enforce to have only one running. And the latter wouldn't do any good with multiple users trying the same anyway.

Hmm, how did you start YaST? Which startup script with which parameters?

After second look at the log, you did not start either the Gtk nor Qt control center, but the NCurses control center with the Qt backend (also you didn't see any single icon, right)?

Then it is obvious that you couldn't start multiple modules (in one terminal it doesn't make much sense).

If you run simple "yast2", then it should work. I will give it a try.

>Hmm, how did you start YaST? Which startup script with which parameters?
Clicked YaST from the menu (which calls '/sbin/yast2')

>After second look at the log, you did not start either the Gtk nor Qt control
>center, but the NCurses control center with the Qt backend (also you didn't see
>any single icon, right)?
Correct, there are no icons.

>If you run simple "yast2", then it should work. I will give it a try.
Same result as if I start it from the menu. Only one task can be performed at a time.

I've just tested it and got the GNOME control center (with icons and with possibility to start two modules at the same time).

Do you have any yast2-control-center.* package installed? It looks to me like this might cause the problem...

Ah, the yast2-control-center-gnome center is not on the Alpha2 media.

I have added detection of missing graphical control center (QT will be used insted of GTK in this case and vice versa) as well as updated the path to the GTK control center.

Rudi, the missing package on the media is for you...

Please add yast2-control-center-gnome.rpm to the discs.

*** Bug 245675 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***

should be already fixed by now, CD config has been modified.