xdm config files overwritten after upgrading Xfree86-clients from ports

[Matthew Seaman]

On Fri, Sep 05, 2003 at 01:45:03PM +0200, Heinrich Rebehn wrote:
> Matthew Seaman wrote:

> >However, I just keep a backup copy of the /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/xdm
> >directory handy:
> >
> >    # cd /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/
> >    # rsync -avx --delete xdm/ xdm.bak/
> >
> >	Cheers,
> >
> >	Matthew
> >
> 
> Ok, this would help for xdm. I wonder however, how many other packages are 
> out there with similar behaviour and what other directories i should have a 
> copy of handy.
> 
> Or, to put it this way: I would like a port/package system that i can rely 
> on :-)

In practice, this really doesn't bite port/package users very often.
The Porter's Handbook states:

    If your port requires some configuration files in PREFIX/etc, do
    not just install them and list them in pkg-plist. That will cause
    pkg_delete to delete files carefully edited by the user and a new
    installation to wipe them out.

    Instead, install sample files with a suffix (filename.sample will
    work well) and print out a message pointing out that the user has
    to copy and edit the file before the software can be made to work.

(http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/porters-handbook/dads-config.html)

which perhaps should be generalized to configuration files installed
anywhere, rather than just under PREFIX/etc.

Of all the ports I have installed, which is several hundred
encorporating general desktop usage, web serving, databases, etc., the
only ones I've had problems with regarding trashing my original
configuration files are XFree86-4-clients and the Horde, Imp, Turba
etc. group of web apps.  (These last, to be fair, always preserve my
config files as <filename>.previous and updates do tend to involve
non-compatible changes to the configuration file contents.)

The only other Gotcha! of this type is when a /usr/local/etc/rc.d
startup script gets changed to the new rc.subr(8) style.  Previously
those scripts were generally held to be configurable files and you had
to copy the sample file into place, edit it and make sure it was
executable before the service would be set up to auto-start on reboot.
With the new rc_subr style, the script doesn't need to be edited, but
you generally have to add some lines to /etc/rc.conf to enable the
service.

	Cheers,

	Matthew

-- 
Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil.                       26 The Paddocks
                                                      Savill Way
PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey         Marlow
Tel: +44 1628 476614                                  Bucks., SL7 1TH UK
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