COMPAT* switches in /etc/make.conf

[Patrick M. Hausen]

Hi, all!

I have relied on the COMPAT* switches in /etc/make.conf for
years to allow binary software like some of the stuff we
distribute to work out of the box on 5.X servers.

Now, while setting up our first RELENG_6 system I found
that they are actually no ops?

OK, I searched a little bit. There are ports for the libraries
now. And there's an entry in the CVS repository:

http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/src/share/examples/etc/make.conf

Fri Oct 15 08:51:11 2004 UTC (12 months, 2 weeks ago) by ru
Overdue removal of COMPAT* knobs.


OK ... overdue due to what? There's no mention of such a serious
change in UPDATING or anywhere I could find on the system. Seems
like I've been copying around no ops for about a year ...

Whas there a HEADS UP mail on -stable that I simply missed?


In the same line: why are the libraries delivered as uuencoded
binaries? Don't they change anymore? What if there is a serious
security flaw in lib_something? Shouldn't the library in question
be fixed, then? Is it not possible to compile a 4.x (3.x, ...)
library from source on a 5.x (6.x, ...) system?


Thanks,

Patrick M. Hausen
Leiter Netzwerke und Sicherheit
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