# Language tasks for tasksel

## Introduction

The `tasksel` package is responsible for the installation of several package sets, for various activities (desktop, file server, ...).

Among the various tasks offered by `tasksel`, language tasks have a special behaviour: they are aimed at installing a set of packages which can be considered useful for the users of a given language.

These tasks are not meant to be optionally selected during `tasksel` runs. Indeed, they are automatically selected depending on the language used for installation as well as the type of install.

For instance, if &d-i; is run in French language, the french task will be automatically installed.

Language tasks are separated in two types of tasks: the &language; task and the &language;-desktop task. The former is installed for every standard system install while the latter is only installed if the desktop tasks is selected by the user (the desktop task installs a basic graphical environment, which can be completed with the Gnome or KDE tasks).

## &language; task

This task should install packages which are useful for the users of &language; in a very basic (text-only) environment.

Appropriate choices for such task are:

- Documentation in &language;;

- Documentation about using Linux or &debian; in &language;;

- Dictionaries or word lists for &language;;

- Set of manual pages translated in &language;;

- Console input methods for &language;;

- Console fonts for &language;;

- .../...

Translators (or other users) proposing packages to be included in these &language; tasks should be careful about dependencies and avoid proposing packages which would trigger too many other unrelated packages to be installed.

Like all packages included in tasks, packages included in &language; tasks should be suitably generic for a large number of the users of the language (at least 25%).

## &language;-desktop task

This task should install packages which are useful for the users of &language; in a graphical environment.

Appropriate choices for such task are:

- Localization packages for packages which are included in the desktop task;

- Fonts useful for the display of &language;;

- Special input methods for &language; in a graphical environment;

- .../...

## Requesting changes/addition of language tasks

Translators are often the most competent users for proposing changes to language tasks. They should be aware that the quality of these tasks will directly influence the quality of the installed system, and they should bring to the maintenance of the language tasks the same carefulness they put in translations.

Requesting changes to existing language tasks or addition of new language tasks should be made by reporting a bug against the `tasksel` package, attaching the needed task file to the bug report (or at the minimum mentioning the needed packages). For details about bug reporting, see bug-reports.