Bill Allombert <Bill.Allombert <at> math.u-bordeaux1.fr> writes: > On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 02:02:18PM +0000, Michael T wrote: > > Some alternatives to packages creating configuration files (often best > > handled > > in co-operation with upstream) are: > > * Ensuring that the package has reasonable defaults if no configuration > > file is > > supplied. > > * Cleanly separate distribution configuration files (i.e. in /usr/lib) and > > user > > configuration files (i.e. in /etc), whereby the second overrides the first. > > But this is also an upstream issue: some upstream configuration system > provide override (e.g. texlive) but most do not. As I said, these are changes that will often be best done in co-operation with upstream - either by requesting it to upstream as a new feature, or submitting a patch and requesting integration. This is already reason enough for it to something desirable but not required if it were added to Debian policy.
> Secondly, sometimes default values need to be determined at installation > time, not at package build-time (this is the case for popcon). That would be covered by the alternative that you didn't quote - doing the configuration the first time the programme is run (or every time the programme is run if the configuration is not heavy-weight) and caching the result in /var or in a dotfile, again to be overriden by user configuration if appropriate. > Maybe you could start by making a list of package that support configuration > override. The ones that immediately spring to mind are udev and hal. What would be a good way of going about compiling a proper list? I'll just mention at this point that I use Ubuntu rather than "straight" Debian, but I don't think that is very important here, and of course even where the packages differ all information about the Debian packages is available online. Regards, Michael -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-policy-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org
