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----- Original Message -----
From: "Patrick Ben Koetter" <p...@sys4.de>
To: <postfix-users@postfix.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2013 4:38 PM
Subject: Re: RFC: postconf user interface
* Wietse Venema <postfix-users@postfix.org>:
This note discusses some user-interface issues with upcoming
postconf(1) features that will be used to manage the content of
master.cf files.
User-interface consistency is important, especially for people who
work a lot with Postfix: fewer things to remember means fewer
mistakes to make (it's also important for implementors, because it
leads to similar code for similar operations and opportunities to
use code that already exists, meaning fewer mistakes to make).
In particular, it would be desirable that postconf(1) uses similar
command syntax for similar operations on main.cf and master.cf.
First I will review a few commands that already exist, and then
I'll introduce some commands that are likely to be implemented.
The first two examples are already implemented:
postconf -M inet
Show all TCP services in master.cf
postconf -M inet.submission
Show the submission-over-TCP service in master.cf
Next, a few examples that are likely to be implemented:
postconf -M# service-type ...
postconf -M# service-type.service-name ...
postconf -MX service-type ...
postconf -MX service-type.service-name ...
Delete (or comment) out the specified services.
Would it make sense - differing from main.cf behaviour - to revert
comments in
master.cf?
These commands are analogous to "postconf -# parameter(s)" (comment
out main.cf parameter settings) and "postconf -X parameter(s)"
(remove main.cf parameter settings). Therefore they should have
similar syntax. I don't expect that these commands will be used
much, but they will make the postconf command more consistent.
We've done a few web interfaces to configure Postfix. Having postconf edit
master.cf would make such tasks easier.
I am contemplating a new class of master.cf operations that operate
column-wise. These currently have no main.cf equivalent.
postconf -Mu chroot=n inet unix fifo pass
Update the "chroot" column to "n" for all services.
Would the new class also allow to edit a _single_ service e.g.:
postconf -Mu chroot=n inet.submission
postconf -Mu type=unix fifo
Update all "fifo" services so that they use UNIX-domain
sockets. This is more laptop-friendly as it avoids MTIME
updates.
Obviously, this command is powerful but it can also inflict a great
deal of damage.
Should postconf be able/offer to make backup copies before it acts a
request
out?
And finally, a more complicated example:
postconf -Me 'text of complete master.cf entry'
Replace the specified master.cf service or add a new service.
Each postconf(1) command-line argument contains the text
of a complete master.cf entry. The new entry is line-wrapped
as with "postconf -Mf".
This command syntax is consistent with existing "postconf -e"
commands, where each postconf(1) command-line argument contains the
text of a complete main.cf entry.
In postconf(1) you wrote "-e Edit the main.cf configuration file, and
update
parameter settings ..."
I haven't thought this through - you probably have: Wouldn't it be more
consistent to use only 'e' (as already for main.cf) instead of 'u' and 'e'
as
proposed for master.cf?
p@rick
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