Re: templates, static documents, and plugins
* sean finney (seanius@debian.org) disait :
> i don't know enough about bugzilla or its templates, but i get the
> point. istr ucf being able to handle that (skipping versions), but i
> could be mistaken. in any case, we should definitely keep in mind that
> such situations are very real.
This is indeed something to keep in mind: in webapps, upstream static
files are volatile from one release to another.
We really have to find "the right way" (tm) to package static files.
> if ucf would handle this, we could probably provide a script that
> recursively applies ucf over the contents and give the option to run it
> at install time. i kind of like that idea, actually. what do you
> think?
Well, ucf might be a good idea. I already use it in bugzilla for moving
a config file. But note that if we use ucf for moving every static files to the right location, the user will be prompted for a merge if the files changed from previous version.
IMHO, the first thing to do will be to claim that "static files under
/usr/share/$package must not be touched".
Then, we can implement such a system (with ucf).
The combination of the warning about the static files' "read-only" state and
the use of ucf could lead to something decent:
If the user follow our advice, he will never see any ucf screen if the
upstream static files did not change.
On the other hand, if the upstream static files changed, or if he
touched the files, ucf will pop up a question to ask for a merge.
That's maybe the best thing to do...
Of course, if the upstream code can handle an alternate directory for static
files, that's the ideal situation (we could then point our finger to
/usr/local/$package for customizations).
> > If admins ahve to maitain an rsync mirror and god know what else, and
> > that they would have to perform all upgrades manually, etc ... I don't
> > see the point in using debian packages for that. they can achieve that
> > using pristines tarballs.
>
> well, at the least they could be informed when there's an upgrade, which
> could still be helpful for security reasons.
And what about the automagick configuraton phase? :) I just can't imagine
something better than our "Automatic installation" for database related
issues.
Man, that rules :)
--
Alexis Sukrieh <sukria@sukria.net>
http://www.sukria.net
« Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur. »
Whatever is said in Latin sounds profound.
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