Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!iuvax!cica!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!uunet!mnetor!motto!ecijmm!eci386!woods
From: woods@eci386.UUCP
Newsgroups: news.software.b
Subject: Re: minor C news hassle
Summary: config file maintenance and installation
Message-ID: <1989Jul22.020017.5703@eci386.uucp>
Date: 22 Jul 89 02:00:17 GMT
References: <1989Jul17.045108.8677@numm.nu.oz> <1989Jul20.181937.19387@utzoo.uucp>
Reply-To: woods@eci386.UUCP (Greg A. Woods)
Organization: R. H. Lathwell Associates: Elegant Communications, Inc.
Lines: 44

In article <1989Jul20.181937.19387@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:
> Sigh.  This particular problem is arguably not the software's fault, but
> there is a more general one here.  The installation stuff does deliberately
> refuse to overwrite existing files... but what if you're re-installing it
> and *want* those files overwritten?  I'm going to have to look at this.

The obvious solution (to me) is to never modify the "installed"
version of the files.  I've managed several systems where ALL
configuration files which were never programme modified (i.e. not
/etc/passwd) were kept in a source tree, and managed with SCCS
(and sccs).  A great example of where this is useful, even if the
value of the version history is questionable are the configuration
files and scripts in /usr/lib/uucp/*.

In fact I even used this methodology with both alpha and beta C
News.

This scheme requires a bit more dicipline (and work).  SCCS (or
RCS) could be used on the config files in their installed
locations, however by keeping them in the source tree, you have
far fewer backup, etc. problems.  You are less likely to tromp on
a file with your editor, and if you do, there's always the version
database to fall back on.

This job is made much easier if the Makefiles are fixed to do the
installations properly (i.e. with su -c's, etc.) and the
configuration dependent parts of the Makefiles are put either in a
master (super) Makefile, or in a master include done by each
Makefile, or both.

I got sufficiently frustrated with the installation of the new C
News to begin setting this up again.  I'm confident my effort
won't be trashed when I have to re-install it 'cause of a major
re-write down the line.  [1/2 :-), 'cause the alpha, beta, and
distributed versions have all been sufficiently different to
require a repeat of this work.]  I definitly will not attempt to
upgrade eci386 (running beta C News) before this is done (on my
home machine: robohack).
-- 
						Greg A. Woods

woods@{eci386,gate,robohack,ontmoh,tmsoft,gpu.utcs.UToronto.CA,utorgpu.BITNET}
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