[gentoo-user] dispatch-conf, the big pic?

[gentoo-user] dispatch-conf, the big pic?

[Ian Zimmerman]

I realized I don't really understand it - I just repeat by rote some
keystrokes.  In particular:

What do the 'z' and 'n' commands do exactly, and what's the difference
between them?

After I do a 'm', how do I actually use the result of the merge?  Is the
merged file now the same as the 'new' one, or the same as the 'old' one?
IOW, if I do 'm' and then 'z', will the merged version be the active
one?

Neither manpage nor wiki is of any help answering these.

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Re: [gentoo-user] dispatch-conf, the big pic?

[Mike Gilbert]

On Sat, Dec 30, 2017 at 1:10 PM, Ian Zimmerman <itz@very.loosely.org> wrote:
> I realized I don't really understand it - I just repeat by rote some
> keystrokes.  In particular:
>
> What do the 'z' and 'n' commands do exactly, and what's the difference
> between them?

The 'z' command throws away the new config file, leaving the existing
config file in place. Use this when you don't care about the changes
in the new file at all.

The 'n' command skips over the current file, and does nothing. If you
quit and re-run dispatch-conf, you should be prompted to do something
with the file again.

> After I do a 'm', how do I actually use the result of the merge?  Is the
> merged file now the same as the 'new' one, or the same as the 'old' one?
> IOW, if I do 'm' and then 'z', will the merged version be the active
> one?

After completing the merge, use the 'u' command to use the merged
version. Use the 'z' command to throw away the merged version and
stick with the old file.

Re: [gentoo-user] dispatch-conf, the big pic?

[Neil Bothwick]

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On Sat, 30 Dec 2017 10:10:33 -0800, Ian Zimmerman wrote:

> I realized I don't really understand it - I just repeat by rote some
> keystrokes.  In particular:
> 
> What do the 'z' and 'n' commands do exactly, and what's the difference
> between them?
> 
> After I do a 'm', how do I actually use the result of the merge?  Is the
> merged file now the same as the 'new' one, or the same as the 'old' one?
> IOW, if I do 'm' and then 'z', will the merged version be the active
> one?
> 
> Neither manpage nor wiki is of any help answering these.

Can I suggest you try conf-update. I find it far more intuitive than
dispatch-conf and everything you asked is completely obvious in it. Of
course, you may decide you hate it, but it's worth a look to find out.


-- 
Neil Bothwick

Indecision is the key to flexibility.

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