From owner-freebsd-python@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Jan 29 00:14:14 2004 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-python@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 3E15C16A4CE for ; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 00:14:14 -0800 (PST) Received: from smaug.vex.net (smaug.vex.net [66.246.136.211]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 5D75343D45 for ; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 00:13:55 -0800 (PST) (envelope-from x@xxvii.net) Received: from bee.vii.net (69-90-55-67.fastdsl.ca [69.90.55.67]) by smaug.vex.net (Postfix) with ESMTP id E680C487BC for ; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 03:13:54 -0500 (EST) Received: by bee.vii.net (Postfix, from userid 1000) id 791A7BD09; Thu, 29 Jan 2004 03:13:48 -0500 (EST) From: Tim Middleton Organization: xxvii.net To: python@freebsd.org Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 03:13:47 -0500 User-Agent: KMail/1.6 References: <200401270812.AA1360330888@onlineus.com> <1075226783.994.192.camel@change.hddesign.com> In-Reply-To: <1075226783.994.192.camel@change.hddesign.com> X-Whee: Yes, Please. MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Disposition: inline Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: <200401290313.47886.x@Vex.Net> Subject: Re: python powered freebsd system X-BeenThere: freebsd-python@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list Reply-To: python@freebsd.org List-Id: FreeBSD-specific Python issues List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 08:14:14 -0000 On Tuesday 27 January 2004 13:06, David Niergarth wrote: > Athough not FreeBSD-specific, see Seth Nickell's Python-based System > Services: Interesting; though why is it i inevertantly shudder whenever I heard of a linux person 'reinventing' anything? This however reflects more poorly on me than the person doing the reinventing. Scanning the slashdot link i found this little post to be the most succinct and thought provoking of all of the descriptions (including Seth's own): [...] His goal is partly to make a nice set of APIs callable from a desktop like Gnome to ease with management and error reporting. As much as I love python, anyone who thinks the init system rewritten in python is going to gain wide acceptance is dreaming. The original poster though envisions more than an init system, but also a unified configuration system (of just the boot, or more general of apps -- maybe like gconf? -- I'm not sure. This also is probably dreaming. But it's a good dream. Microsoft did it long ago with the system registry... few unix people want to go down *that* road, nor is it likely even possible to given the more ecclectic nature of the broad spectrum of unix developers, but there is definitely a lot of merit in the idea behind it. The quote above to me sounds almost reasonable though. FreeBSD 5.2 does have a pretty good rc system going (borrowed from NetBSD, and worked on)... it's fairly unified. The rc.conf is a "sort of" configuration database. And the rc_subr provides a pretty decent rc-oriented API for the basic tasks required by programs that need to be started, stopped, and generally managed. Got me thinking that what might be more useful (and have more of a chance of general acceptance) is a tool which builds on top of this framework... a sort of rc script manager/configurer. Python would be a great and flexible platform for such a thing. Just some thoughts... And now for some links of my own of varying relevance... for another take on service management, don't forget djb's daemontools... http://www.freshports.org/sysutils/daemontools/ And here's an sf group i stumbled on a while back that seems hasn't gone anywhere... who want to build a gui admin tool for freebsd. They want to use Java of all things. Well, at least with Java there is Jython! (Hmm, someone should do a port for that!): https://sourceforge.net/projects/freebsdcc/ -- Tim Middleton | Cain Gang Ltd | I was allowed to play at philosophy no x@veX.net | www.Vex.Net | longer. --C.S.Lewis (SBJ)