Re: COAS or linuxconf as an admin tool for Debian
On Sun, May 09, 1999 at 09:08:53PM +0200, Stefan Gybas wrote:
> Linuxconf is in this respect not different from vi, emacs, perl, sed, ...
> Each of these programs can change the config file from another package, but
> _only if root tells them to do so_.
Hmm... It seems I cannot tell why exactly linuxconf is not what vi, emacs, etc
are.
> BTW, the final situation should be that a package provides a module for a
> configuration utility, so the Policy is not violated any longer.
Yes, it would be the solution. But this solution has the same problem we have
with localization stuff, for example: it just takes disk space on my hard drive
if I do not use it. For resolving this issue, I'd propose to make a separate
package with that module, but this brings us to the point where we started. So
for resolving the original problem, I'd recommend to modify the policy. BTW,
the same problem will occur if Debian adopts COAS. :)
> Linuxconf should only change /etc/hosts if you make changes to the host
> database and the click on "save". I've never used an older version of
> Linuxconf, maybe there was a bug at this time.
The change I saw was not the change I did. Let me repeat linuxconf added its
own stuff to the file. Does it still works the same way?
> I guess I have to write a litte FAQ about Linuxconf on Debian as I always
> receive these questions about "Linuxconf taking control of everything" and
> "Once you have used Linuxconf you can't switch back to vi".
Yes, it would be nice. For example, a friend of mine wanted to have linuxconf
on his home computer (and he does not care about those policies etc. :), but
I just could not tell him anything about linuxconf (I prefer vim) and could not
direct to the place where his questions were answered.
BTW, my point was not `you can't switch back to vi', my point is `linuxconf
relies on certain information in the files under its control'. Is this
correct?
--
Mike
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