From owner-freebsd-security Mon Dec 4 00:43:35 1995 Return-Path: owner-security Received: (from root@localhost) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.6.12/8.6.6) id AAA09912 for security-outgoing; Mon, 4 Dec 1995 00:43:35 -0800 Received: from onyx.southwind.net (root@onyx.southwind.net [204.95.83.2]) by freefall.freebsd.org (8.6.12/8.6.6) with ESMTP id AAA09901 for ; Mon, 4 Dec 1995 00:43:30 -0800 Received: (from Ucomplet@localhost) by onyx.southwind.net (8.6.12/8.6.12) with UUCP id CAA01893; Mon, 4 Dec 1995 02:25:06 -0600 Received: from complete.org (complete.org [127.0.0.1]) by complete.org (8.7.2/8.7.2) with SMTP id BAA00543; Mon, 4 Dec 1995 01:46:05 -0600 (CST) Message-Id: <199512040746.BAA00543@complete.org> X-Authentication-Warning: complete.org: Host complete.org [127.0.0.1] didn't use HELO protocol X-Mailer: exmh version 1.6.4 10/10/95 To: "Jordan K. Hubbard" cc: Robert Du Gaue , Robert Watson , Michael Smith , security@freebsd.org Subject: Re: ****HELP***** In-reply-to: Your message of "Sun, 03 Dec 1995 00:48:58 PST." <821.817980538@time.cdrom.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Date: Mon, 04 Dec 1995 01:46:02 -0600 From: John Goerzen Sender: owner-security@freebsd.org Precedence: bulk > > It would be better if the installer would just: > > 1) Overwrite older versions of programs with the newer versions > > 2) Delete any obsoleted programs (and preferably make symlinks to the > > newer ones) > > 3) Add new files to existing system > > Unfortunately, the raw materials that the installer has to work with > (distributions) aren't nearly that easily applicable to the more > general problem you'd like me to solve. Only a filestore that allows > me to do file by file operations will allow for this kind of > intelligent merge. A split, gzip'd tar file is not that kind of > filestore. I'm not very much of a Unix expert at all, but it seems to me that problem #1 could easily be solved (the know binaries simply overwrite the old ones -- assuming the have the same name, as most do). #3 also, it just extracts the tar.gz'd files, no problem there. #2 is a different story. Probably all it would take, though, is a list of files to be deleted if exist. One filename per line, and a simple program to delete it. I'd be willing to write such a program if necessary. Perhaps a checksum or something would be good as well.... > > I'm happy, as always, to accept contributions of code that help > solve these problems! :-) Let me know on #2 via e-mail (not on this list) if you want me to throw together a C program.... -- John Goerzen, programmer and owner | MICRO$oft only exists because some Communications Centre & Complete BBS | people are too dumb to get something E-mail jgoerzen@complete.org | better, such as FreeBSD.