Re: RFD: Essential packages, /, and /usr

[Manoj Srivastava <srivasta@debian.org>]

>>"Clint" == Clint Adams <schizo@debian.org> writes:

 >> But if you doi want to run it, this is it,, end of story. So,
 >> now for when we want to merely test for presence.

 Clint> Perhaps if you want to test for multiple commands before
 Clint> executing them? 

	Umm, say what? You mean you want to test for presence of
 multiple commands and execute one or more? (not something you covered
 origiannly, but in that case go to case H

 >> So what? Who the hell is the postinst to tell me what I should
 >> or should not be doing with my machine? When I change the command on

 Clint> Apparently if you have zsh as /bin/sh and try to install xdm,
 Clint> the postinst will happily tell you what version of debianutils
 Clint> to install to get readlink.

	And what is the root cause of this problem? Seems like this is
 a bug somewhere, and should be fixed. 

 >> my machines, by gar, stupid postsinst should follow suit. Where does
 >> this overweening sense of the postinst always being right, the human
 >> who has changed the environment always is wrong coming from? This is
 >> certainly not the UNIX philosophy. 

 Clint> If you wanted to replace the update-menus command, you would have much
 Clint> more success by dpkg-diverting it rather than putting your replacement
 Clint> in /usr/local/bin.

	Yes, if proposals like yours take effect. Stuff that has
 worked for 30 years in UNIX is just to be tossed aside. NIH.

 Clint> I don't believe anything guarantees that the latter will work, whereas
 Clint> the former is a good bet.

 >> Silly, since A is the correct answer, but what the heck do you
 >> mean it is not standardized?  POSIX is a standard, you know, and it
 >> has indeed standardized this. 

 Clint> It has not.  The closest POSIX comes to which is to mention
 Clint> that it came from csh.

	Fair enough. It is an utility provided by an essential
 package, and has a man page. If that is not good enough, use
 type. Surely people can manage their packages without having
 everything in policy?

 Clint> I imagine that amending policy would help that end.


	I am not sure this is likely to happen. I certainly do not see
 a consensus emerging. You may have better luck getting it into the
 Best Practices book.

	manoj
-- 
 I believe that if people would learn to use LSD's vision-inducing
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Manoj Srivastava   <srivasta@debian.org>  <http://www.debian.org/%7Esrivasta/>
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