Re: [gentoo-user] Handling of config updates, RFC

["Boyd Stephen Smith Jr." <bss03@volumehost.com>]

On Sunday 12 February 2006 07:37, Maarten <gentoo@ultratux.org> wrote about 
'[gentoo-user] Handling of config updates, RFC':
> What tickles me the most about the current process is that one sometimes
> gets huge lists of updated files by updating a single package. A package
> which may have never been used, or at least configured, by the user.
> For instance, updating webmin, or snort, yields many many ._cfg files an
> average user knows little about, and does not care about since he never
> tweaked them. In other words, they are in their distibution-default
> state, never edited.  It stands to reason everyone would want all those 
> files overwritten by the new ones, is it not ?  Well, neither tool does 
> that now.

1) "The Gentoo Way" says that gentoo shouldn't make that decision for you.

2) Check out your /etc/dispatch-conf.conf; It has options to automatically 
perform a number of merges and even keep an RCS history of config files to 
ensure that it is easy to rollback in breaking changes.  I tell 
dispatch-conf to automatically merge config files I haven't touched.

I'd say the tools provided with portage, plus cfg-update, as mentioned by 
the other poster, as more than capable for my use (actually, the only one 
I /ever/ use is dispatch-conf).  Before trying to stir up development 
efforts on another method, please try and fully understand the tools 
gentoo provides.  I'm not saying config file maintainence couldn't be 
improved in gentoo, but I think it's in a state that satisfied the 
majority of users and (more importantly) developers.  It does help to 
tweak your CONFIG_PROTECT and CONFIG_PROTECT_MASK.

-- 
Boyd Stephen Smith Jr.
bss03@volumehost.com
ICQ: 514984 YM/AIM: DaTwinkDaddy
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