Re: debian and ubuntu - answer from user not pretending to be guru

[Mark Allums <mark@allums.com>]

Raquel wrote:
> On Sun, 3 May 2009 10:18:49 -0400
> "Douglas A. Tutty" <dtutty@vianet.ca> wrote:
>
> > On Sun, May 03, 2009 at 07:29:07AM -0500, John Hasler wrote:
> > > Bret Busby wrote:
> > > > Before I try it, please advise whether, in removing the sudo
> > > > facility for users, the package management (both
> > > > adding/removing packages, and, downloading and installing
> > > > updates, and using synaptic) will work by entering only the
> > > > root password.
> > > The package management software just needs root privileges.  It
> > > doesn't care how it got them.
> > >
> > > Nobody is suggesting anything exotic here.  Sudo is intended to be
> > > configured by the system administrator.  That's you.
> > However, does the package management software (as aptitude does)
> > store user preferences in the home directory?  If, for example, you
> > always run aptitude as yourself then give it the root password when
> > prompted, it stores your preferences in your home directory.  If
> > you later run aptitude as root, those prefernces won't be active.
> > Also, vis-versa.
> >
> > Doug.
>
> I don't think that aptitude will run as $user, Douglas.  It always
> runs as root.  At least, that's what it's always told me when I've
> mistakenly tried to run it as $user.


It runs as user (in GUI mode), but it won't attempt to make changes to 
the system until you authenticate as root (become root).

In command-line, I guess you must be root.  But you can use sudo -c 
"exec aptitude", I think, or something similar, if you are weird enough.

Mark Allums