Bug#686817: grub-pc: Add option to change keyboard layout

[Paul Menzel]

Package: grub-pc
Version: 1.99-22.1
Severity: serious

Dear Debian folks,


in my opinion it should be possible for the user to easily change the
keyboard layout for the boot loader. Especially in 2012. So I put the
severity to serious as I think this should be solved for Wheezy.

As far as my tests and my online search goes, that is currently not
possible in Debian [1]. Fedora seems to offer that possibility and GRUB
too [2].

Probably #686815 [3] needs to be resolved for that first.

Additionally an option should be added to `/etc/default/grub` like
discussed on the Talk page in the ArchWiki [2].

        GRUB_TERMINAL_INPUT=at_keyboard
        KEYBOARD_LAYOUT=de

Lastly `/etc/grub.d/05_keyboard_layout` needs to be created with

        insmod keylayouts
        keymap /boot/grub/$KEYBOARD_LAYOUT.gkb

where the last line should ideally be also read from `/etc/default/grub`
and `update-grub` should take care of generating the keymap file using
`grub-kbdcomp`.

If that is not possible a big section should be added to the release
notes.

        Currently Debian Wheezy does not support to easily change the
        keyboard layout for its default boot loader GRUB 2 (grub-pc).
        Please read the page <should be created> in the Debian Wiki on
        how to do that manually.
        
        Please note that when Debian GNU/Linux starts, it uses an
        initial RAM file system which can set the used keyboard layout
        for entering for example the LUKS password for encrypted
        devices. You need to install the package `console-setup` to
        configure that.


Thanks,

Paul


[1] http://debianforum.de/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=116672
[2] https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Talk:GRUB2#Custom_keyboard_layout
[3] http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=686815

-- System Information:
Debian Release: wheezy/sid
  APT prefers unstable
  APT policy: (500, 'unstable'), (500, 'testing'), (500, 'stable'), (1, 'experimental')
Architecture: i386 (x86_64)

Kernel: Linux 3.2.0-3-amd64 (SMP w/2 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=de_DE.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=de_DE.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash

Versions of packages grub-common depends on:
ii  gettext-base        0.18.1.1-9
ii  libc6               2.13-35
ii  libdevmapper1.02.1  2:1.02.74-4
ii  libfreetype6        2.4.9-1
ii  libfuse2            2.9.0-5
ii  zlib1g              1:1.2.7.dfsg-13

Versions of packages grub-common recommends:
ii  os-prober  1.55

Versions of packages grub-common suggests:
ii  desktop-base   7.0.3
pn  grub-emu       <none>
pn  multiboot-doc  <none>
ii  xorriso        1.2.2-2

-- no debconf information
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