Eric Rostetter wrote: >> Maybe something along the lines of automake that can take >> old versions of a config file, along with some rules, and use it to build a >> current version.
> DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) did this for years back in the 70's > and 80's, so it is certainly doable... Why not write your favorite > package manager and suggest it? We have a product that includes a Perl script that does this. Here's the issue for me: Clam comes out with a security release. Oh, and it breaks on old configuration files. So now, we need to get the new release to customers ASAP. Well, we can't just push out new Clam packages or their systems will stop working. We can easily rework our Perl script, but (obviously) the existing scripts on customer machines won't know about the new config file changes. So we need to package and push out the new Perl script at the same time. This needs testing and may be error-prone if customers have modified their configuration files. On the other hand, if Clam did an accept / deprecate / reject cycle, it would be much easier: 1) Push out the new Clam packages ASAP. Our customers get the security release and are happy. 2) Work on our Perl script, but we can do this without time pressure. We know our customers are safe, and we can take the time to modify our updater carefully. We can write tests. We can log onto customer systems and look for edge-case configuration files that might break our updater. Everyone is much happier and under much less stress. Regards, David. _______________________________________________ Help us build a comprehensive ClamAV guide: visit http://wiki.clamav.net http://www.clamav.net/support/ml
