Re: Discouraging automatic creation of configuration files
Bill Allombert <Bill.Allombert <at> math.u-bordeaux1.fr> writes:
> On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 02:02:18PM +0000, Michael T wrote:
> > Some alternatives to packages creating configuration files (often best
> > handled
> > in co-operation with upstream) are:
> > * Ensuring that the package has reasonable defaults if no configuration
> > file is
> > supplied.
> > * Cleanly separate distribution configuration files (i.e. in /usr/lib) and
> > user
> > configuration files (i.e. in /etc), whereby the second overrides the first.
>
> But this is also an upstream issue: some upstream configuration system
> provide override (e.g. texlive) but most do not.
As I said, these are changes that will often be best done in co-operation with
upstream - either by requesting it to upstream as a new feature, or submitting a
patch and requesting integration. This is already reason enough for it to
something desirable but not required if it were added to Debian policy.
> Secondly, sometimes default values need to be determined at installation
> time, not at package build-time (this is the case for popcon).
That would be covered by the alternative that you didn't quote - doing the
configuration the first time the programme is run (or every time the programme
is run if the configuration is not heavy-weight) and caching the result in /var
or in a dotfile, again to be overriden by user configuration if appropriate.
> Maybe you could start by making a list of package that support configuration
> override.
The ones that immediately spring to mind are udev and hal. What would be a good
way of going about compiling a proper list? I'll just mention at this point
that I use Ubuntu rather than "straight" Debian, but I don't think that is very
important here, and of course even where the packages differ all information
about the Debian packages is available online.
Regards,
Michael
Reply to: