[arch-dev-public] user/group management in packages

[Allan McRae]

Hi all,

While looking into how best handle those directory permission warnings
with pacman-4.2, I have noticed a couple of things about user/group
management in our packages.

1) We should not remove users/groups when packages are uninstalled. This
is a potential security issue if any files are left owned by the
non-existent user/group.

2) Most packages that chown files in the install file could do it use
the user/group number in the PKGBUILD.  This works on any package with a
reserved user/group ID.  The advantage of doing this is that pacman can
track the permissions.  (A solution is being worked on for dynamically
created user/groups whose id number can vary.)

Should I create a rebuild list?

Cheers,
Allan