Re: Why is troubleshooting Linux so hard?

[Miles Fidelman <mfidelman@meetinghouse.net>]

Steve Kemp wrote:
> On Mon Nov 15, 2010 at 13:51:55 -0500, Borden Rhodes wrote:
>
>    
> > What would it take to get some error message standards in place so that
> > troubleshooting Linux is possible for those of us who aren't computer
> > science PhD candidates?
> >      
>    1.  Make a list of all the programs which exist, but which do not
>       log "useful" information.
>
>    2.  Persuade every single one of them that your suggestion to add
>       "useful" logging information is a good one.
>
>    3.  Wait for them all to update.
>
>    This is the problem - There is no single place this change could
>   be made.  Even if it were in KDE and all KDE applications go it you'd
>   be missing other things such as sudo, screen, less, GNOME, etc.
>
>    You suggest "troubleshooting linux", but what you really mean (I
>   guess) is troubleshooting any available program which just happens
>   to run upon Linux systems (and possibly others).
>    
Actually, that does suggest a policy-level, or perhaps kernel-level 
approach -- creating a stronger framework for logging, error-reporting, 
tracebacks, etc.  The further upstream that's implemented, the more 
likely developers are to utilize well-defined and well-supported hooks.

Miles Fidelman

--
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In<fnord>  practice, there is.   .... Yogi Berra