Subject: Re: Removing compat/aout
To: Jaromir Dolecek <jdolecek@netbsd.org>
From: Todd Vierling <tv@wasabisystems.com>
List: tech-kern
Date: 03/08/2002 14:39:52
On Fri, 8 Mar 2002, Jaromir Dolecek wrote:

: > * Move /usr/pkg to /emul/aout/usr/pkg, and rebuild /usr/pkg incrementally
: >   and *cleanly* rather than in one big inconsistent pkg_delete/rebuild
: >   sweep.  This is accomplished by allowing the old binaries to find their
: >   config files, external extra utility files, and so forth -- things that
: >   are *NOT* searched by ld.so -- in /emul/aout/usr/pkg, until the package in
: >   question has been recompiled for ELF.
:
: I don't particularily see why you should need to _move_ your old
: /usr/pkg to /emul/aout/usr/pkg. pkgsrc does check for executable
: format and doesn't allow the newly built packages (ELF) to depend
: on old a.out ones.  So, you _can_ incrementally upgrade your /usr/pkg
: without need to move anything anywhere.[*]

You end up with stray files, packages forgotton to be upgraded, and worse.
Upgrading an a.out /usr/pkg in place is a Bad Idea.

: I personally want my config files all in /etc, surely without regard
: to executable format.

That's not the default for pkgsrc, so not relevant to this issue.

: Surely, it's possible to do some thing with COMPAT_AOUT which can't
: be done with ld.so.  However, one can be as well off with the ld.so
: solution, if one arranges things appropriately.  Thus, I don't see
: a need for kernel solution, and would like to ditch it.

"Because it doesn't do anything useful for you" doesn't mean "throw it out"
-- some other people may find utility in it.  I've needed COMPAT_AOUT a
total of 6 times already for migration purposes.

If this is your only argument for removing it, perhaps I should bring up the
migrate-UUCP-and-RCS-to-pkgsrc discussion again?

-- 
-- Todd Vierling <tv@wasabisystems.com>  *  Wasabi & NetBSD:  Run with it.
-- CDs, Integration, Embedding, Support -- http://www.wasabisystems.com/