Re: [gentoo-user] How to work with etc-updates.

[Mark Knecht <markknecht@gmail.com>]

On 8/31/05, Jerry Turba <jturba@nethere.com> wrote:
> Thanks everyone for your help. I will try using Marks rules and start
> using dispatch-conf to be able to roll back any changes that don't seem
> to work.
> Jerry
> 

Darn, that's scary! OK, if you're gonna follow someone as blind as me
le me expand these a bit so that I can say I really tried...

> 
> Mark Knecht wrote:

> >
> >My rules are:
> >
> >1) The update was put there for a reason.
> >
> >2) If it's a file in /etc/initd then I update it automatically.

This rule is still true. I am not a programmer and will never edit an
init script. For me these are 100% updated ASAP.

> >
> >3) If it's a file in /etc/conf.d then I update it very carefully.

This rule is true but needs some expanding on. We all edit a few
/etc/conf.d files, for hostname, rc for whether to use a tarball or
not, etc. I know the 5 or 6 that I edit. If the etc-update is for one
of those files then I generally go very carefully. Mostly I'll let
etc-update do it's thing, but I look very carefully at all changes,
and then I go back and redo my edit by hand if it's necessary when
etc-update is done.

However, today I did an emerge and etc-update wanted to do something
to /etc/conf.d/spam. Since I know I do not edit that file I just let
it do the update. No problem.

> >
> >4) If it's a file in /etc/, /etc/X11, or elsewhere the I update it
> >very carefully but possibly not right now.

This rule is still true. My experience is that xorg.conf is often more
heavily modified by me so I don't want that getting changed. I will
often make a copy of my current file and then let etc-update do it's
thing and then go back and redo my work by hand again. It's tedious,
and I know that many others would think it strange what I do,  but
seems to be the safest for me.

> >
> >5) Anything else, I go slow. Maybe I look for messages from others on
> >this list having problems before I do something.

Still true unless it looks like a file that I consider system oriented
in which case I just let it happen and hope for the best. Linux is a
tool for me. I don't do system stuff myself so if the devs want it
changed let it change.

> >
> >My experience is that rules 2 & 3 account for 80-90% of the updates.
> >

Hope this helps.

Good luck,
Mark

-- 
gentoo-user@gentoo.org mailing list