James Falkner writes: > Right now users can install arbitrary software in $HOME and it will > be unknown to the admin. What this proposal suggests is using a > subset of the Solaris packaging technology to allow and encourage > the use of packaging tools to install into $HOME - potentially giving > the admin a better interface to discover installed stuff across the > users' home directories on a given system, rather than no interface > today, while still allowing non-root use of existing package > technology (which is the main goal of this proposal). The proposal > is not meant to boil the ocean, but rather take a baby step toward > a more friendly non-root environment for developers and app > administrators.
The part that has me unsold here is the idea that by enabling (and encouraging) this use, we're not just burying ourselves deeper. Suppose we did take a step back and looked at the larger problem -- i.e., how multiple instances of packages can relate to each other and refer to dependencies on other repositories of software; the same problem that has plagued diskless, Zones, shared software, and other efforts in this area. Would the solution we come up with look a lot like this? If it seems unlikely to look like this, then what sort of transition are we setting those customers up for when we finally do get this right? It seems like an incomplete solution to me, and doesn't seem to have much to recommend it over just doing what people already do today: ship tar images and custom install scripts. > > Even if the check for UID 0 is removed, we currently have no higher- > > level design that accounts for the issues that arise with arbitrary > > software installation. > > There have been issues raised in this discussion that I attempted to > recap before the July break and there has been some discussion since. > Are there other issues not previously discussed that you are referring > to? Those same issues. -- James Carlson, KISS Network <james.d.carlson at sun.com> Sun Microsystems / 1 Network Drive 71.232W Vox +1 781 442 2084 MS UBUR02-212 / Burlington MA 01803-2757 42.496N Fax +1 781 442 1677
