Re: /etc/alternatives feedback for presentation
On Sat, Aug 11, 2018 at 05:28:37PM -0500, Ryan Nowakowski wrote:
> For example if I set the EDITOR env var how does
> that interact with update-alternatives when I run visudo?
The VISUAL or EDITOR variable takes precedence, if one of them is set.
If neither one is set, then visudo uses its compiled-in default, which
on Debian happens to be '/usr/bin/editor'.
The problem is that sometimes, sudo will strip environment variables,
and sometimes, it will not. So, on any given computer with any given
sudoers configuration, you can't actually know in advance whether
"sudo visudo" will use VISUAL/EDITOR or not.
Isn't Unix *fun*?
Of course, if you simply use "su", then VISUAL/EDITOR will be preserved
in the environment (because "su" does not strip environment variables),
so "su" followed by "visudo" should work fine.
But, wait! Debian has decided to CHANGE HOW SU WORKS in testing, so
after stretch, who knows how things will work?!
Some people claim you should muscle-memorize "su -" which strips the
environment in order to give you a usable PATH variable. If you follow
THIS advice, then "su -" will strip VISUAL/EDITOR from the environment,
and then your VISUAL/EDITOR variables won't work when you type visudo.
So, I can't imagine why you would want to do that. Losing all your
qualify-of-life environment variables is far too high a price to pay to
get a working PATH variable after su.
The other alternatives are:
1) Stay on stretch.
2) Edit /etc/login.defs to restore a functional su command (without needing
to use "su -").
3) Put /usr/sbin and /sbin in your ordinary account's PATH.
*Fun*!
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