Re: PROPOSAL: dpkg-logger and related
On Thu, 7 Jan 1999, Ben Collins wrote:
> 1) Continue to use syslog, but notice when syslog is not running and
> attempt to deduce where syslog would have put the messages if it were.
> Only do this if it's obvious from /etc/syslog.conf, that the default
> line is still present. If the local6 line has changed, then output the
> messages to screen, with a warning telling the user that it is not
> being logged.
>
> 2) --wait option. Basically waits for keypress prior to returning from
> dpkg-logger. This option is mainly
>
> 3) Use a configuration file (/etc/dpkg-logger.conf) to allow for
> changes in how it handles messages:
> a) Whether or not to ignore messages that are supposed to be
> sent to stdout (log, but don't put on the screen).
> b) Whether or not to use syslog or output directly to a file
> using internal logging mechanism. Also would be able to
> specify 'none' so that it only outputs to screen (no warning
> since the user actually set this option purposely).
> c) If using syslog, and syslog is not running, an alternate
> file (if desired) to send output to directly. This option
> would over ride #1 above and should be the default.
>
> Anything else pertinent while I am hacking this together?
Well, I hate to be discouraging of your hard work, but I simply don't
think this is the right approach.
As I and someone else (Martin, I think) pointed out when you first
proposed it, a far cleaner solution is simply to redirect stdout, stderr
and perhaps a few more FDs from the scripts. This minimises the amount of
changes which need to made to the scripts, and makes them simpler to
write. Then apt 'does the right thing' with the FDs - and what it does
with the FDs would cover the same gamut of possibilities as the options
you have in dpkg-logger, and maybe more.
But as has also been said before, these issues have been hashed out at
least partly as part of the configuration management system.
Jules
(appreciating your work, but fearing it will be obsoleted before it goes
into general use)
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| Jules aka | jules@debian.org | Richmond, Surrey |
| Julian Bean | jmlb2@hermes.cam.ac.uk | TW9 2TF *UK* |
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