Which files in /usr/sbin?
Since Raul Miller (rdm@gopher.legislate.com) and I seem to disagree about
how to interpret the fsstnd regarding files in /usr/sbin, I would like to
get advice from people in the mailing list.
If we follow the quote from the fsstnd literally, then many programs in
/sbin and /usr/sbin should be moved to /bin or /usr/bin. I have made a
sample list (see below).
I don't think that is reasonable. I think we have to interpret the fsstnd
to mean "if the main purpose of including a program at all is for the
sysadmin to use it, then it should be in .../sbin". If the words are
different, maybe I should file a bug report on the fsstnd.
In the particular case of zdump, I think that the purpose of including it
at all is for the sysadmin to verify the validity of the
/usr/lib/zoneinfo database, not for users to see what time is it in the
other side of the planet. In that case, we should include it in /usr/games.
What do you think?
Here is a list of programs potentially useful for regular users:
In /usr/sbin:
chat
chroot
dip
httpd
pathto
pppd
rdate (with -p option)
rmail
safe_finger
sendmail
showmount
smail
start-stop-daemon
strfile
traceroute
try-from
unstr
zdump
In /sbin:
clock -r
fdisk -l
ifconfig
ldconfig -NXp
lsmod
mke2fs (floppies!!)
mkfs
mkfs.ext2
mkfs.minix
route
On Thu, 18 Jan 1996, Raul Miller wrote:
> Package: Timezone
>
> I wrote:
> >(0) zdump is in /usr/sbin -- though you don't need to be root to
> >find it useful.
>
> Fernando Alegre replied:
> I don't consider this a bug. Many utilities included mainly for
> sysadmins are useful to regular users, but that doesn't prevent
> them to be in /usr/sbin.
>
> I still consider this a bug. Here's a quote from fsstnd-1.2, section
> 3.10:
> Deciding what things go in sbin directories is simple: If a user will
> need to run it, then it should go somewhere else. If it will only be
^^^^
Maybe "only" is too drastic. It could lead (as in this case) to
misinterpretations.
> run by system administrators or as root from system management scripts,
> then it should go in /sbin (or in /usr/sbin or /usr/local/sbin if the
> item is not vital to system operation).
>
> If there are other utilities that users will need to run in /usr/sbin
^^^^^^^
On the other hand, "need to" is not the same as "might want to".
Users need to run /bin/sh, but they don't need to run /usr/games/fortune or
/usr/sbin/traceroute even though they might want to run them.
> these are also bugs. I'm re-opening this report.
>
> --
> Raul
>
>
Let's see what the experts' opinion is before closing it again :-)
Regards,
Fernando Alegre
alegre@mars.superlink.net
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