[aur-general] upgrade of "conf.d/*.conf"-style packages containing example configs

[mar77i at protonmail.ch]

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On May 31, 2018 10:00 PM, J. Konrad Tegtmeier-Rottach via aur-general <aur-general at archlinux.org> wrote:
> Hi,
> I've run into a general issue with software packages that use a
> configuration directory, aggregate configs therein using a glob rule
> on the filenames, and contain an example config.
> An example is `community/consul`, which
> 
> -   globs for `/etc/consul.d/*.{hcl,json}`
> -   contains `/etc/consul.d/example.json`
>     
>     When I configure these types of software first I delete the example
>     file, and then place additional configs in that directory, with
>     everything working as expected.
>     Then an upgrade for that package rolls around, and the example config
>     is recreated. This usually means that as soon as the software reloads,
>     the recreated example config gets loaded, too, and the software tends
>     to fail or behave in byzantine ways.
>     


As a rule of thumb, if a software package ships an example config, it should IMO not be made effective on installation, unless it's "generally applicable or useful" in that it then needs only minor edits for each particular use case. You can see how this definition on its own makes room for interpretation already, though. My guess is that a package that breaks due to re-shipping its own example configuration qualifies for a bug. Many software packages (systemd is taking the cake today) ship their example configuration somewhere in /usr, which seems a better idea, because there they don't accidentally become effective. Oftentimes these problems occur due to ignorant or uninformed upstream which would benefit from people like you who are reporting these problems. That said, are you interested in finding more of these packages? I can think of a wonderful role for you around here.

cheers!
mar77i


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