From owner-freebsd-current@FreeBSD.ORG Tue May 6 20:07:20 2003 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-current@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.FreeBSD.org (mx1.freebsd.org [216.136.204.125]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 1314737B407 for ; Tue, 6 May 2003 20:07:20 -0700 (PDT) Received: from smtp3.server.rpi.edu (smtp3.server.rpi.edu [128.113.2.3]) by mx1.FreeBSD.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 47AE343FA3 for ; Tue, 6 May 2003 20:07:19 -0700 (PDT) (envelope-from drosih@rpi.edu) Received: from [128.113.24.47] (gilead.netel.rpi.edu [128.113.24.47]) by smtp3.server.rpi.edu (8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id h4737FiJ012007; Tue, 6 May 2003 23:07:15 -0400 Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Sender: drosih@mail.rpi.edu Message-Id: In-Reply-To: <20030507015648.GB692@lenny.anarcat.ath.cx> References: <3EB8109D.2060307@isi.edu> <20030507083913.Y18014@gamplex.bde.org> <20030507015648.GB692@lenny.anarcat.ath.cx> Date: Tue, 6 May 2003 23:07:14 -0400 To: The Anarcat From: Garance A Drosihn Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ; format="flowed" X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.28 cc: current@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Stale pieces in the base system? (was: hardcoded -C argument to ${INSTALL}) X-BeenThere: freebsd-current@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.1 Precedence: list List-Id: Discussions about the use of FreeBSD-current List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 07 May 2003 03:07:20 -0000 At 9:56 PM -0400 5/6/03, The Anarcat wrote: >I too had an obscene idea like this, but it was much more >perverse and powerful: Why don't we make that install >program record the files in a package? install(1) (or >pkg_install progs) would then know which files would be >where. By bumping a serial or version number somewhere, >you could check which files have been changed/added/removed >quite easily. My fear is that any attempt to do the "perverse and powerful" solution will open too many cans of worms, and will never actually get done. There have been many "obvious" solutions posted to solve the problem of stale files, including some grand claims that I have made from time-to-time, but the problem turns a bit tricky when one tries to actually implement something that will work for all freebsd users. I wanted a solution that I thought I could implement in a week, assuming I ever actually had a week where I was free to work on just freebsd. I think I could do my simple proposal in less than a week. Now, if this simple solution did exist, I am sure that others could take it and greatly improve it. But we first have to get to *something* that actually helps the situation, because we really do re-visit this same topic about once-a-month. -- Garance Alistair Drosehn = gad@gilead.netel.rpi.edu Senior Systems Programmer or gad@freebsd.org Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute or drosih@rpi.edu