Bug#202096: xfs: plan for running as non-root user and better FPE handling
Package: xfs
Version: 4.2.1-9
Severity: wishlist
Guillem Jover and I worked out the following proposal at DebConf 3.
Should apply to xfs, xfstt, and xfs-xtt.
1) Petition debian-policy for dynamically allocated user id under which
to run X font servers. Username possibly "xfntserv"?
2) Modify xfs* init scripts to run as this user.
3) Modify xfs* init scripts to ensure proper ownership of temp
directory.
4) Use shared template to store font path elements.
E.g.,
shared/x-font-path-elements
which is a list of the HASHes in the following templates:
shared/x-font-path-element-HASH
Each of these are string templates containing an FPE.
Font servers for X provide FPEs like "unix:/7100".
Font packages for X provide FPEs like "/usr/lib/X11/fonts/100dpi".
Should have example registration code in shell for use by package
maintainers to ensure that people get this stuff right (don't add
duplicates, etc.).
5) dexconf uses these shared templates instead of hardcoding FPEs.
6) dexconf wraps ucf to merge in changes to its Files on demand, can be
called by font packages in postinst and prerm to drive updates of the
Files section.
7) [JUST A THOUGHT] Font server packages can also use the debconf-stored
FPEs themselves to write their own configuration files, just leaving out
the FPEs that refer to font servers.
-- System Information:
Debian Release: testing/unstable
Architecture: powerpc
Kernel: Linux redwald 2.4.19-powerpc #1 Mon Sep 9 09:01:43 EDT 2002 ppc
Locale: LANG=C, LC_CTYPE=en_US
Versions of packages xfs depends on:
ii libc6 2.3.1-17.0.2 GNU C Library: Shared libraries an
ii zlib1g 1:1.1.4-14 compression library - runtime
-- debconf information excluded
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