Date: Sat, 09 Jun 2012 09:17:43 -0700 From: Doug Barton <dougb@FreeBSD.org> To: Andriy Gapon <avg@FreeBSD.org> Cc: freebsd-hackers@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: boot menu option to disable graphics mode Message-ID: <4FD37727.60705@FreeBSD.org> In-Reply-To: <4FD0EEB1.10103@FreeBSD.org> References: <4FD05C16.9040905@FreeBSD.org> <20120607084738.GT85127@deviant.kiev.zoral.com.ua> <4FD06CD3.3080602@FreeBSD.org> <20120607095741.GA1361@reks> <4FD0BAC6.6000304@FreeBSD.org> <4FD0EEB1.10103@FreeBSD.org>
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On 06/07/2012 11:10, Andriy Gapon wrote:
> on 07/06/2012 17:29 Doug Barton said the following:
>> On 06/07/2012 02:57 AM, Gleb Kurtsou wrote:
>>> What do you think about adding generic support for overriding *_enable
>>> options in rc.conf?
>>>
>>> I'd like to be able to disable services at boot prompt, e.g.
>>> # set rc.slim_enable="no" -- overrides slim_enable="yes" in rc.conf
>>>
>>> Similarly rc.pf_enable="no"
>>>
>>> Then introduce x_enable knob (=yes by default) to disable login
>>> managers. User will be able to override this setting with
>>> # service xdm forcestart
>>
>> Why not just:
>>
>> boot single user
>> fsck -p
>> mount -a
>> $EDITOR /etc/rc.conf[.local]
>>
>
> Ah, right. Why provide a way to do something using one command at one prompt
> (or even toggling a menu option using a single keystroke) when you can already
> do the same using multiple commands at multiple places (and also trying to not
> forget to undo your changes later)...
I realize you were being sarcastic, but your question deserves an answer.
If this were a problem we didn't already have a solution for, I'd be
much more interested in what you're proposing. But in no particular
order ...
1. This is not something most users would have to do very often, if at all.
2. We have a variety of different login managers, several of which do
things subtly differently, all of which would need ongoing support.
3. While the changes you're proposing sound simple, the startup stuff
has some subtle interactions that we don't like to disrupt without good
reason.
It's also worth pointing out that if all you need is a shell at boot
time, you can still do Ctrl-Alt-F1 to get that, without having to change
anything. And if you find yourself needing to prevent the login manager
from starting more often than not, just disable it by default and start
it with 'service <blah> onestart', or use startx.
My point being that this doesn't come with zero costs, and has very
little benefit. That usually spells "no" in my book.
Doug
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