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Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2011 01:42:12 -0600 (CST)
From: Robert Bonomi <bonomi@mail.r-bonomi.com>
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To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
In-Reply-To: <87zkr42h7f.fsf@oak.localnet>
Subject: Re: Simple command to reset / clear all logs?
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> From owner-freebsd-questions@freebsd.org  Thu Jan 13 23:28:08 2011
> From: Carl Johnson <carlj@peak.org>
> To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
> Date: Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:21:40 -0800
> Subject: Re: Simple command to reset / clear all logs?
>
> Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> writes:
>
> > On Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:11:03 -0600, Adam Vande More 
> > <amvandemore@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Amusing, but you're the one full of shit.  There's more things to 
> >> automatic log file creation than are thought of in your imagination.
> >
> > Adam,
> >
> > I think Robert is right at least in regards of SOME programs that use 
> > syslogd for logging OR do the logging stuff on their own.
>
> I think that newsyslog will create the new log files if specified in the 
> /etc/newsyslog.conf file.  That might be the confusion about some log 
> files being created automatically but others not.  The newsyslog.conf(5) 
> manpage mentions a 'C' flag that can be specified.

BINGO!  

Furthermore 'newsyslog' is *NOT* part of the Unix 'standard'.  You _cannot_ 
count on it being present on every/all Unix system.

Newsyslog is also -not- a 'logging service'.  'syslogd' is the logging
service, and syslogd does -not- create any files mentioned in its .conf
file.

Newsyslog, itself,  doesn't even consult the syslog.conf file. It operates
entirely independantly o , and _tolally_ignorantly_ of, what syslogd does.

_IF_ 'newsyslog' exists, 
and is configured to run at system start-up,
=and= the logfile in question is also configured in the newsyslog.conf file,
*AND* that logfile entry has the 'C' {create if missing} flag set,
_THEN_AND_ONLY_THEN_ will the file get created  when the system transitions 
into multi-user mode.