Re: /etc getting big
Ethan Benson <erbenson@alaska.net> writes:
> now if we talk about things that are in /etc/ but are not
> configuration files then they should be moved to either /usr/share if
> they are static, or /var/lib/ perhaps if they are variable by still
> not really config files.
FHS: /usr/share is for architecture-independent data.
FHS: /usr is read-only and shareable with FHS hosts.
Are you sure this does not lead to files 'all over the place'
syndrome? Perhaps some non-config files are in /etc because there is
no other logical place.
> > '/' should only have files needed to bring system up to single user
> > state, mount /usr and restore backups.
>
> and hold system wide configuration files, thats what the FHS says so
> take it up with them. i mostly agree with you, but i don't see a
> problem with /etc as it is currently defined. having /etc directories
> all over the place is not appealing to me.
Of course not 'all over the place' I didn't even mention such thing.
But i still don't think /var/config/ is against FHS. Except: "/etc
contains configuration files and directories that are specific to the
current system." At least X11 link in /etc is accepted.
For example: Easiest method of sending mail is to use ISP's server.
Once an ISP's mail-server received my messages, but did not deliver nor
gave any error messages to me. After that I started to send my mail
directly to receivers server. (ISP i now mostly use blocks direct
SMTP connections. Unfortunately their mail-server is also unreliable.)
Spam filters make sending mail from host with dynamic IP tricky. I
have a smail.config in /var/ which is rewritten every time IP number
changes. Of course it is referred via link in /etc/smail/. It is a
variable config file so /var/config/ seems logical. (I tried exim
when Potato was fresh, but failed to configure it for dynamic IP and
went back to smail.)
/etc has some very important files. Single mistake and your computer
wont boot or everyone in the net has full access. 'ls /etc | wc -l'
aproaches 300. Is this really best possible organization? I have now
58 MB '/' (55% full) It should be big enough for a while. My first
Linux computer had only 75 MB disk space. Of course i can live with
this. I only have to remember to double '/' every time i change my
disk drive.
- Jukka
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