Re: npasswd changes for debian
On Thu, 10 Feb 1994, I wrote:
>
> The stock npasswd program places npasswd.conf, npasswd.help and
> an optional npasswd.motd together in one directory. debian 0.91
> places npasswd.conf in /etc and npasswd.help in /usr/lib. This
> appears to complicate housekeeping, since npasswd.help contains
> an explanation of the limits defined in npasswd.conf, and a change
> in one of these files necessitates a matching change in the other.
> It seems more sensible to me that they be located in the same place.
>
> Comments?
Nobody else has commented. However, I have a followup.
The copies of these files used in debian 0.91 appear to be the
versions distributed with the npasswd package. As distributed,
the npasswd.help file contains text which explains the npasswd.conf
options chosen, and npasswd.help must be kept in sync with npasswd.conf
changes. Separating the files complicates housekeeping and increases
the chance of housekeeping errors. Diluting the npasswd.help text
so that it's not dependent on npasswd.conf values makes it less helpful.
Additionally, I've now looked over the newly published v0.99 FSSTND
document, and believe that it lends weight to my contention that the
npasswd.conf file should not be separated from the npasswd.help
file.
As I read the FSSTND document, it is intended that /usr/... files be
sharable by all machines in a networked environment, and that /etc/...
files contain machine-local system configuration information. Given
this, it seems that both npasswd.conf and npasswd.help should be placed
in /etc/... if the npassword configuration options are intended to
be variable from one machine to another, and that both should be
placed in /usr/... if the options are intended to remain constant
for all machines on a network.
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