Re: incompatible user configs (was Re: icewm, icewm-gnome segfaulting...)
On Tue, Dec 29, 1998 at 05:02:58PM -0800, Chris Waters wrote:
> This is something that we need to address. I've got a similar problem
> with a program that I'm taking over (gxedit), where the user's config
> files are not compatible with earlier versions. When I asked on
Ouch.
> -mentors, I was told that the only real solution is to get the upstream
> version fixed so that it handles this sort of situation properly.
Sorry, but this is not a good answer. I honestly doubt the gxedit upstream
will change its source. How about a conversion script? It shouldn't be too
hard to add a conversion script that changes the config file for each user.
> Now, icewm is a rather more visible package than gxedit, what with it's
> connections to GNOME and all. So, I think the time has come to raise
> this issue on -devel. What should M. Meskes and I do with our packages?
Some upstream authors take care of problems like this. Others don't. If we
rely on upstream changes we're in trouble. As for gxedit, it is pretty easy
to change the code once you understand what it does (there are simply no
comments at all). I did this with my original release to change the default
configuration. This program has no system wide config file.
As for icewm it's easier in that a correct system wide config file is
distributed with the package. But we need at least a note in the control
file/postinst/whatever. Still I'd prefer a conversion script.
Michael
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