ports overwriting configuration files

[Matthias Andree]

Oliver Eikemeier <eikemeier at fillmore-labs.com> writes:

> Grmbl. It is hard to think of an algorithm that recognizes `real' configuration
> files automatically. In my ports I install *.default configuration files, which
> *are* overwritten with new ones. The `real' configuration files are not touched
> if they are different (edited) from the default ones, but of course I know which
> are the real and which are the default files.

Well, the ports I maintain - if they include configuration - will run
cmp(1) to check if the configuration file is the same as the example
file (however it is named, *.dist, *.sample, ...) and only if it is the
same, will be removed.

For some ports that have a linear collection of independent options, Sam
Varshavchik's sysconftool (used, for instance, by mail/cone), is the
right thing to use, but this will not work for nested configurations and
configurations with sections that can be repeated, think Samba.

-- 
Matthias Andree

Encrypted mail welcome: my GnuPG key ID is 0x052E7D95