I run 5 different configurations of Linux, including Tumbleweed KDE and Tumbleweed Gnome.
Generally, if there is no kernel update I interpose “KDE” or “GNOME” into the /etc/os-release file as shown below
NAME=“openSUSE** KDE** Tumbleweed”
VERSION=“20180326”
ID=opensuse
ID_LIKE=“suse”
VERSION_ID=“20180326”
PRETTY_NAME=“openSUSE** KDE **Tumbleweed”
ANSI_COLOR=“0;32”
CPE_NAME=“cpe:/o:opensuse:tumbleweed:20180326”
BUG_REPORT_URL=“https://bugs.opensuse.org”
HOME_URL=“https://www.opensuse.org/”
Grub uses the above information.
Thus, on a reboot or morning startup, I am able to quickly choose to load KDE or GNOME.
But the zypper dup, replaces the entire file, just to change the #VERSION=20180326 line
Can something be done to just replace the one line, or can SUSE add a file to /etc that would allow me to name my system
Here are ideas for two typical names “Dad’s Gnome”, or “Mom’s KDE”.
I have 5 unique Linux systems on my one computer. And yes, I am probably the exception.
First, we are usera like you. Thus changing something in our /etc/os-release would be as effective as it is on yoir system.
If SUSE (who?) will do something about this I doubt. After all, as you can read in
man /etc/os-release
/etc/os-release contains data that is defined by the operating system vendor and should not be changed by the administrator.
So, by the definition of the file’s usage you are on the wrong path.
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And indeed, not many users will have that many ooenSUSE systems on one system. Specially as choosing between DE (e.g. KDE or Gnome) will normally be done by the user at log in.
I have KDE and Gnome (and XFCE and MATE) installed in Tumbleweed. I don’t need multiple installs of Tumbleweed for that. I just select at the login menu.
Generally, if there is no kernel update I interpose “KDE” or “GNOME” into the /etc/os-release file as shown below
NAME=“openSUSE** KDE** Tumbleweed”
The “os-release” file is supposed to be a vendor file, not a user file. You are doing it wrong.
Put that information in “/etc/default/grub”, as with:
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR="openSUSE KDE Tumbleweed"
If GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR is blank (empty), then info from “os-release” is used. Otherwise the GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR value is used. And it isn’t overwritten at every update.
There’s even more. Login managers remember what desktop the user last time logged in on. So you can simply have 5 useraccounts and all the desktop environments installed. Your wife’s login will lead her to KDE, yours to GNOME and so on. They don’t even have to log out, the sessions can run in paralell and the system allows you to swictch between those, via Ctrl-Alt-F7,8,9 etc.
Reminds me of my proof to a non-believer years ago: A spreadsheet, with a macro the filled the entire sheet with random numbers, then colored the cells one by one with the number in the cell as an initial value. Switching users in XP on the non-believer’s machine paused ( or stopped ) the macro, doing so on SuSE ( at the time ) kept it running. Comment: “I still have my doubts…”.
