Re: Proposal: su-to-root should be replaced with a system managed by alternatives.
Op wo, 24-11-2004 te 13:57 +0300, schreef Nikita V. Youshchenko:
> > su
> > sux
> > sudo
> > gksu
> > gksudo
> > kdesu
> > calife
> > chiark-really
>
> These packages do different things, and are used for different purposes.
Not true. All of them are used to run commands as another user.
> E.g. 'su' is for becoming another user (not necesary root) after entering
> that user's password, 'sudo' for running selected commands under another
> user without knowing that user's password,
Yet, they are both used to run commands as another user. Aside from
that, sudo /can/ be set up to require the password of the user you're
trying to set your userid to, it's just not the default.
> 'kdesu' is a component of KDE used havily by KDe itself (e.g. from
> kcontrol), etc
Which should not matter; kdesu, too, is an application used to run
commands as another user. Whether or not it's being used from KDE itself
isn't even remotely relevant.
> IMHO it's not a case for alternatives.
I'd say it most definitely is. However, perhaps not to the extent that
one would want to select gksu over kdesu.
There are two major groups here: the 'su' group and the 'sudo' group.
Which of the two is the correct one to use depends on system policy; I
can imagine a number of situations where a sysadmin would want users to
be able to run /some/ commands as root, but not /all/ of them -- heck,
that's why sudo was written in the first place. To be able to do this,
you cannot give your users the root password; your users would then just
log on as root and circumvent all your restrictions.
The fact that gksu is used from the menu system instead of gksudo,
however, means that one cannot conveniently use sudo in graphical
environments. That is a shame. Combine with the fact that su-to-root
hardcodes the programs used to become root, with no way to configure it
and, well.
--
EARTH
smog | bricks
AIR -- mud -- FIRE
soda water | tequila
WATER
-- with thanks to fortune
Reply to: