init issues

[bruce@Pixar.com (Bruce Perens)]

Regarding init, there are a few issues that I need to deal with for
the Debian system.

Read-only root - Init isn't capable of understanding the run level or
power status when the root is read-only. Changing run levels on Debian
currently creates /var/log/initrunlvl and signals init to read it.  If
/var isn't mounted, you lose. If we move it to /etc/initrunlvl and /etc
is on a read-only root, you lose. The same goes for
/var/log/powerstatus, used by genpower. I don't really like the idea of
placing dynamic status files in /etc, anyway. I was thinking of
replacing them with a named pipe in /dev so that it would work with a
read-only root. I'll discuss this with Miquel van Smoorenberg.

Location of /etc/rc[0-6].d/ directories. I just want to make links
to /etc/rc.d/rc[0-6].d so that we can be compatible with packages
built for redhat (and thus caldera). Redhat has expressed interest
in arriving at a merged binary package format or at least having
package cross-compatibility, which would help both of us.

Genpower the UPS-monitoring daemon - we don't provide it at the
moment, and should. I'll build it and make sure it works with init
and then pass it on to another maintainer. 
I don't have a UPS but will simulate one while working on it.

	Thanks

	Bruce Perens
--
Bruce Perens <Bruce@Pixar.com> Pixar Animation Studios

Q: How many Microsoft engineers does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: None.  They just define darkness as an industry standard.