1 |
On Tuesday 31 May 2011 17:26:43 David W Noon wrote: |
2 |
> On Tue, 31 May 2011 10:10:01 +0200, Neil Bothwick wrote about Re: |
3 |
> |
4 |
> [gentoo-user] Cleaning redundant configuration files: |
5 |
> >On Mon, 30 May 2011 23:08:08 +0100, David W Noon wrote: |
6 |
> >> You have just touched on an annoyance of unmerge, in that it does not |
7 |
> >> clean up configuration files that have been modified. It removes |
8 |
> >> files that are still in the same state as when the package was |
9 |
> >> emerged, but not those modified by the user. I don't see how user |
10 |
> >> changes make the file more important than would be in its vanilla |
11 |
> >> state. |
12 |
> > |
13 |
> >It doesn't remove *any* files that have been modified, |
14 |
> |
15 |
> Erm ... that's what I wrote, above. [That is, of course, predicated on |
16 |
> the assumption that installing Package A will not modify configuration |
17 |
> files owned by Package B, and vice-versa: all post-installation |
18 |
> modifications are performed by the user.] |
19 |
> |
20 |
> >the reasons |
21 |
> >systems used to get cluttered with orphaned .la files. The logic is |
22 |
> >quite simple, if it is not the file portage installed with the |
23 |
> >package, it should not be uninstalled with the package. |
24 |
> |
25 |
> Why should that be so? If the user has modified a configuration file |
26 |
> after the previous installation and then unmerges the package, a repeat |
27 |
> of the configuration changes is all that is required to reinstate it if |
28 |
> the package is removed in its entirety. The user might even be daring |
29 |
> and take a backup of the file(s) in question. |
30 |
|
31 |
It seems that we have a different appreciation of the user's value of time in |
32 |
editing config files ... |
33 |
|
34 |
|
35 |
> To repeat myself: I do not see a customized configuration file as being |
36 |
> any more important than a vanilla one. If I understand a configuration |
37 |
> file well enough to customize it once, I remain capable of customizing |
38 |
> it again after a reinstall. |
39 |
|
40 |
I would *not* want to have to reconfigure sendmail, apache, mrtg, or umpteen |
41 |
other files from scratch if you don't mind. I probably can't remember what I |
42 |
was doing 3 years ago (or whenever I might have edited them) and the whole |
43 |
ecosystem of keeping things going may be quite fragile to cope with portage |
44 |
doing away with files I had modified, *without* asking me! |
45 |
|
46 |
Yes, I know there are back ups and rsync can be ran so as to not delete old |
47 |
config file back ups, but I find the current set up most convenient and |
48 |
sensible. After all we're talking about a few extra KB for a small number of |
49 |
config files, hardly a space saver these days. |
50 |
|
51 |
However, if we're talking of an additional option for those who want to use it |
52 |
to remove orphan config files, but which offers enough warnings to wake up the |
53 |
user, then I wouldn't of course object to that as long as it was not made the |
54 |
default setting. Personally, unless there is mass demand for such a feature, |
55 |
I think that qfile -o is good enough for this purpose. |
56 |
|
57 |
Anyway, just my 2c's. |
58 |
-- |
59 |
Regards, |
60 |
Mick |