Re: xserver-xfree86 replacing /etc/X11/XF86Config-4

[David N Kordonowy <dave_k@MIT.EDU>]

On Tue, 2002-10-08 at 22:14, Branden Robinson wrote:
> On Tue, Oct 08, 2002 at 08:52:43PM -0400, David N Kordonowy wrote:
> > When upgrading X, xserver-xfree86 replaces my/etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file
> > even though it has been modified by me.  My /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 is a
> > link to another file (in this case it is /etc/X11/XF86Config-4.sun).
> > The package xserver-xfree86 replaces this link with its file, thus
> > breaking X.
> > 
> > Is this normal behavior for packages or is this simply a result of my
> > nontypical setup?
> 
> Have you read the very top of the generated XF86Config-4 file?

Yup.

> 
> ### BEGIN DEBCONF SECTION
> # XF86Config-4 (XFree86 server configuration file) generated by dexconf, the
> # Debian X Configuration tool, using values from the debconf database.
> #
> # Edit this file with caution, and see the XF86Config-4 manual page.
> # (Type "man XF86Config-4" at the shell prompt.)
> #
> # If you want your changes to this file preserved by dexconf, only make changes
> # before the "### BEGIN DEBCONF SECTION" line above, and/or after the
> # "### END DEBCONF SECTION" line below.
> #
> # To change things within the debconf section, run the command:
> #   dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86
> # as root.  Also see "How do I add custom sections to a dexconf-generated
> # XF86Config or XF86Config-4 file?" in /usr/share/doc/xfree86-common/FAQ.gz.
> 
> In what way does the above not make the situation clear?

Well, I suppose I thought that xserver-xfree86 would change the debconf
section that /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 pointed to (in this case
/etc/X11/XF86Config-4.sun), and not erase the link and replace it with a
new file.  Is this policy part of debconf?

> 
> This behavior is controlled by a debconf question:
> 
> Template: xserver-xfree86/manage_config_with_debconf
> Type: boolean
> Default: true
> Description: Manage XFree86 4.x server configuration file with debconf?
>  The /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 file, which contains the configuration information
>  for the XFree86 version 4 X server, can be handled automatically by debconf,
>  or manually by you.
>  .
>  Note that only specific, marked sections of the configuration file will be
>  handled by debconf if you select this option; if those markers are absent,
>  the configuration file will not be updated automatically, and you will have
>  to update the file manually, or move or delete the file.
> 
> To shut this off, "dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86".
> 
> -- 
> G. Branden Robinson                |    If a man ate a pound of pasta and a
> Debian GNU/Linux                   |    pound of antipasto, would they
> branden@debian.org                 |    cancel out, leaving him still
> http://people.debian.org/~branden/ |    hungry?              -- Scott Adams

Thanks,

David Kordonowy