Bug#619431: release-notes: Upgrading sh from bash to dash requires changes to /etc/passwd.

["Karl O. Pinc" <kop@meme.com>]

On 03/28/2011 05:46:05 PM, Javier Fernández-Sanguino Peña wrote:
> On Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 03:26:26PM -0500, Karl O. Pinc wrote:
> > In any case after installing dash and using it as the default sh
> > I found that a number of users in /etc/passwd had /bin/sh as their
> > shell.  Needless to say this did not go over well as all the bash
> > features like tab completion went away.
> 
> True, but this is not Debian's default. From /etc/adduser.conf: 

Yes.  I'm not sure how real users got /bin/sh as their shell in
/etc/passwd.

> > The squeeze release notes remark on the switch of sh from bash to
> > dash.  This section should probably also include a reminder to
> > check that meatspace user's shells are /bin/bash.
> 
> Actually, the Release Notes do not remark that much on the switch.
> There is
> just a description of potential issues when upgrading dash or bash 
> due
> to
> local diversions.
> 
> Maybe we should add a section describing the move in the 'What's New'
> section
> and then add a footnote there...

Humm.  Perhaps it's the dash install debconf screen itself that I 
was thinking of.

In any case the change to a POSIX sh seems worth a remark, although
since the debian default for users in /etc/passwd is bash I no longer
think that it's worth remarking about /etc/passwd.  After all there's
an infinite number of ways to break things.  Sysadmins should be made 
aware of the POSIX default shell.  Although existing installation have
a whole release cycle (or more) to adjust, anyone who's got their
own shell scripts that they install on new systems may need to
take note.

Regards,


Karl <kop@meme.com>
Free Software:  "You don't pay back, you pay forward."
                 -- Robert A. Heinlein