Bug#346342: libc6: REALLY annoying: destroys workaround all the time

[Aurelien Jarno <aurelien@aurel32.net>]

Hi!

On Mon, Apr 10, 2006 at 12:28:17AM -0400, Martin Stolle wrote:
> Package: libc6
> Version: 2.3.6-5
> Followup-For: Bug #346342
> 
> 
> I would like to add something really annoying to this bug:  every time
> the libc6 package is updated, it overwrites /etc/localtime .  This makes
> this bug REALLY annoying, since the perfectly working workaround of
> copying the timezone file into /etc/localtime is destroyed all the time.
> 
> I would like also like to add something to the "dual boot ppl are
> lame" argument.  Many ppl, even those that are full Linux ppl, dual boot
> to run the odd Windows application.  I am one of them, and I have
> multiple partition, because I run Debian most of the time and like the
> added reliability (has save my ass before!).  So PLEASE, I IMPLORE you,
> fix this bug.  Copying the timezone file to /etc instead of symlinking
> it is a perfectly acceptable solution, especially if you overwrite
> /etc/localtime ANYWAYS ALL THE TIME.
> 
> So PLEASE, fix this ridiculous "easy to fix, but won't do it because of
> silly ideological concerns", or AT LEAST, don't overwrite /etc/localtime
> ALL THE TIME.

First of all, please don't be so agressive. If you look at the bug log,
we never say we won't fix the bug because of ideologicial concerns.
Actually nobody from the glibc team answered to the bug report, so I
don't know how you know our opinion.

Then I think it's just that nobody found the time to work on this bug,
and also the first mails sent to the bug log shows that the situation is
unclear if it is a bug in the glibc or util-linux. After all nothing has
changed on the glibc side, and the bug was not present before.

If you need to be more helpful, please send a patch instead of shouting.

Then on the bug itself, I will try to investigate that. The solution is
not trivial, if you look at the tzconfig script, you may notice that the
script use a readlink on /etc/localtime. Replacing it by a plain file
may have consequences that have to be investigated. It seems that it is
broken for some people (I fail to understand how it happens), and we 
don't want to break it for everyone.

Bye,
Aurelien

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