On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 12:54:41PM +0000, adrelanos wrote: > Package: general > Severity: wishlist
> I'd like to have a /etc/environment.d folder. Contributing that code > shouldn't be hard for me. But I don't know where the would be the best > place to implement it and how? As Joss says, packages should not rely on /etc/environment's contents; there should be no need to manage this as anything other than a simple file under the control of the user. > http://codesearch.debian.net tells, that many packages read > /etc/environment directly, not using some system mechanism to get the > contents of it, which makes the implementation harder. The /etc/environment file is owned by pam. Other packages are not meant to be reading it directly, because contrary to appearances it is NOT defined as a shell snippet, but as a shell-like config file parsed by pam_env internally. Packages *are* allowed to assume /etc/default/locale is shell-parseable and parse it directly, as this is a file defined expressly for sharing locale information between all relevant consumers (including pam services, and display managers which need to know the locale to use /before/ authenticating the user). And I would not accept a patch like this to the pam package. pam's code is very security-sensitive, which makes this a high-risk, low-benefit change. It should be done upstream if at all, but I don't think upstream will go for it either. > Asking all affected packages to read /etc/environment.d as well or to > start using a system function to do that seems unlikely? > The most realistic option could be to write something similar to > resolvconf, i.e. creating a package which phrases /etc/environment.d > and dynamically creates /etc/environment. That would at least not require changes to pam_env, but having to generate files in /etc from other files is ugly and should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. -- Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world. Ubuntu Developer http://www.debian.org/ slanga...@ubuntu.com vor...@debian.org -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-bugs-dist-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org