[RFC] possible non-backward-compatible change to install(1)

Brooks Davis brooks at freebsd.org
Tue Jan 29 17:38:34 UTC 2013


In CURRENT I have added a number of features to the install(1) command
that are derived from NetBSD.  One of them is the -M <metalog> option
that causes new-style mtree entries to be emitted for each object that
is created in the target.  In the interest of compatibility and usability I
removed the previous meaning of the -M option (disable mmap).  I would
like to MFC this change as is in violation of our usual practice, but
before I do so I want to solicit opinions on the subject.

I believe it is sufficiently safe to remove the -M option in a stable
branch because:
 - It is not used in our source tree.
 - It is FreeBSD specific and thus it is used nowhere in portable software.
 - It has not been useful since the VM system stabilized in the
   late-90s/early-2000's so it is unlikely to be used in FreeBSD
   specific software.
 - In the unlikely even the -M option is in use in some historic
   Makefile or script, nearly all install commands that did it will result
   in command line validation errors.
 - Those that don't will not result in direct data loss.

The benefit of the change is that (in conjunction with several other
changes) it will be possible to build FreeBSD releases and some types of
embedded media images without root privilege.

Does anyone have strong (preferably non-hypothetical) objections to this
change?

-- Brooks
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