[Bug 1418420] [NEW] Confusing title for Java package caused by _get_application_for_package

[Ori Avtalion]

Public bug reported:

Using version 0.196.12

Recently, a bunch of Java 6 packages needed to be updated on my machine:
icedtea-6-jre-cacao
icedtea-6-jre-jamvm
openjdk-6-jre
openjdk-6-jre-headless
openjdk-6-jre-lib
tzdata
tzdata-java

Update-Manager has decided that the name for the openjdk-6-jre package should be "OpenJDK Java 6 Policy Tool".
It then decided that openjdk-6-jre is the representative package of that group, so the entire update was under a drop-down named "OpenJDK Java 6 Policy Tool". (See screenshot)

Upon cursory inspection of the code, it seems like the function
_get_application_for_package picks a representative name for a package
based on the applications it provides. (Those that have a .desktop file)

This logic seems faulty. The "Java Policy Tool" is not a good
description for that package, or for the group. It should use the
description of openjdk-6-jre which is "OpenJDK Java runtime, using
Hotspot JIT". Also, it's odd that the "Java Policy Tool" requires a 38MB
update. That program is rarely used.

I don't have a suggestion on how to improve the algorithm itself to
detect whether a desktop application provided by a package should be its
description or not.

** Affects: update-manager (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New

** Attachment added: "update_manager.png"
   https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1418420/+attachment/4312989/+files/update_manager.png

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1418420

Title:
  Confusing title for Java package caused by
  _get_application_for_package

Status in update-manager package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  Using version 0.196.12

  Recently, a bunch of Java 6 packages needed to be updated on my machine:
  icedtea-6-jre-cacao
  icedtea-6-jre-jamvm
  openjdk-6-jre
  openjdk-6-jre-headless
  openjdk-6-jre-lib
  tzdata
  tzdata-java

  Update-Manager has decided that the name for the openjdk-6-jre package should be "OpenJDK Java 6 Policy Tool".
  It then decided that openjdk-6-jre is the representative package of that group, so the entire update was under a drop-down named "OpenJDK Java 6 Policy Tool". (See screenshot)

  Upon cursory inspection of the code, it seems like the function
  _get_application_for_package picks a representative name for a package
  based on the applications it provides. (Those that have a .desktop
  file)

  This logic seems faulty. The "Java Policy Tool" is not a good
  description for that package, or for the group. It should use the
  description of openjdk-6-jre which is "OpenJDK Java runtime, using
  Hotspot JIT". Also, it's odd that the "Java Policy Tool" requires a
  38MB update. That program is rarely used.

  I don't have a suggestion on how to improve the algorithm itself to
  detect whether a desktop application provided by a package should be
  its description or not.

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