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Re: /etc getting big



On Sun, Jun 03, 2001 at 09:23:50AM +0300, Jukka Neppius wrote:
> 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'

yes, this is a logical system. 

> syndrome?  Perhaps some non-config files are in /etc because there is
> no other logical place.

i don't think so.  

> 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.

the FHS says you can't just make up new directories and toss them in
/var.  /var/config does not exist in FHS, thus you may not create and
consider yourself FHS compliant.  you want /var/config you must
propose it to the FHS people.  good luck, you have given no reasonable
rational for its existence.  

what would go in /var/etc or /var/config whatever, as opposed to /etc?

> 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.)

i see no reason why moving this config file out of /etc was necessary,
your the admin and you are allowed to modify configuration files
however you please either automatically or manually.  

> /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'

so?

> aproaches 300. Is this really best possible organization?  I have now

$ ls -l /usr/bin | wc -l
   2237

whats your point?  /etc grows as you install packages needing global
configuration files, reduce bloat on your system in general and you
reduce /etc too.  

> 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.

this is an exaggeration. 

i am in full agreement that non-configuration files do not belong in
/etc, such things belong in /usr/share in most cases and bugs should
be filed against offending packages.  that will do more good then
making up random, non-standard locations to start spewing config
files. 

-- 
Ethan Benson
http://www.alaska.net/~erbenson/

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