[arch-general] Re: My end-user $0.02 on /etc/rc.conf splitting.

[Nicolas Sebrecht]

The 22/07/12, Heiko Baums wrote:

> That said, Gentoo always had separate config files located
> in /etc/conf.d. So the idea of not having one single rc.conf is not
> this new. Nevertheless one single /etc/rc.conf makes the administration
> a bit more comfortable, because you have all settings at a glance and
> don't need to cat or edit several files.

Sounds like you (don't take this a personal critism, you're not alone)
have poor administration practices. Editing multiple files instead of
one in not a problem at all. In fact, it's the exactly opposite.

The pain is the need to merge new changes while updating. Some tools
(like pacdiff) can help with the job but it's very frustrating to have
one configuration file and merge lot of changes in it. Especially when
it comes to cosmetic/comments changes.

Having one big configuration file means it's much easier to make
mistakes in it and have strong problems because of that.  Dedicated
files to services/requirements make such problems more isolated. So,
we're going a better robustness, better expectations compliance for new
incoming users (and admins having more than one arch desktop to
maintain).

Who is manually editing each configuration one after the other need
lessons on administration tasks. If merging tools are not good enough,
then let's improve them. But please all, don't make a shoot on current
changes. What Tom is doing is exactly what most of ArchLinux users
expect. And the philosophy, KISS principle or whatever theory that you
think is good in Archlinux is not beeing broken at all.


-- 
Nicolas Sebrecht