On Thu, Mar 04, 2010 at 01:01:02AM +0000, Ben Hutchings wrote: > On Wed, 2010-03-03 at 11:41 -0800, Josh Triplett wrote: > > Package: linux-base > > Version: 2.6.33-1~experimental.2 > > Severity: normal > > > > The conversion script decided to use LABEL=myhostname-swap for my swap > > partition. Swap partitions support UUIDs too; please consider using > > those instead. > > I think labels are far more user-friendly since they are actually > memorable. Therefore, for devices that have both a label and a UUID, > the label will be used, and for devices that have neither, a label will > be generated. You are free to reject the plan and edit files yourself. > Unless you can give a very good reason why UUIDs are preferable, I will > not implement this.
I can give several good reasons. UUIDs generally can't collide; labels can. Bad Things could happen if two different partitions end up with the same label. Consider what would happen if you had a Linux install on a USB flash drive. (I have several specialized Debian systems that run off USB drives.) What happens if you plug a system with a partition labeled "/" into a system which already has a partition labeled "/"? UUIDs generally won't appear anywhere where "user-friendly" matters. Users shouldn't fiddle with /etc/fstab or similar unless they have a clue. Graphical tools will use a label if available, even if the actual mount call doesn't. Furthermore, filesystems won't necessarily already have labels, while all filesystems *should* have UUIDs. A few references I found: http://www.mail-archive.com/debian-u...@lists.debian.org/msg478822.html https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=364441 Does all of this provide sufficient reason, or should I provide more? :) - Josh Triplett -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-kernel-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: http://lists.debian.org/20100304072642.ga2...@feather