runlevel configuration for init.d scripts

[Bodo Meissner <mei@asdis.de>]

Hello everybody,

in LSB Specification 0.7.8, Chapter 18. System Initialization,
"Installation and removal of init.d files" I found the following question:

There should be a tool available to the user (ala RedHat's chkconfig)
which can be used by the system administrator to easily manipulate at
which init levels a particular init.d script is started or stopped. This
specification currently does not specify such an interface, however.
(XXX should it?)

I think the LSB specification should specify such an interface. To make it
easier for a software manufacturer, we need a common interface to specify
in which runlevels a service should run. Otherwise I would not trust a
program like /usr/lib/lsb/install_initd to do it's job correctly, but
rather install the links in the rc?.d directories with my own script
depending on the distribution and release.

For example, our company produces a software product which runs as a
daemon in background and needs TCP/IP and RPC. So we want it to be started
in multiuser level with networking and in multiuser level with networking
and xdm. There might be other programs which do not need networking and
can run in all multiuser levels or programs which are useful only on
systems running xdm.

That's why I think there is no common setting for all programs and we need
a standard interface.


Bodo