Re: pkg_add problem with nosuid on /var

[Alistair Crooks <agc%pkgsrc.org@localhost>]

On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 02:45:44PM -0500, Julio Merino wrote:
> On Thu, Nov 15, 2012 at 11:43 AM, Alistair Crooks <agc%pkgsrc.org@localhost> 
> wrote:
> > Yes, I've been using ${PREFIX}/.dbdir for a long time, and I really
> > regret not moving it to be under ${PREFIX} by default for everything.
> 
> This ought to be ${PREFIX}/libdata/pkgdb/ according to hier(7). (Yes,
> and I've been doing this too for ages.)

Well...  there are distinct benefits (from a modular, keep related
things together, pov) in keeping the packaging database under the same
${PREFIX} that it relates to, but justifying this by using hier(7) is
a trifle optimistic and self-satisfying - we modify hier to justify
our decisions - and it could also be used to justify it as a
persistent database under /var.  As a side note, however, package
views needs ${PKG_DBDIR} under ${PREFIX}, and my own personal
preference is there as well, but others disagree.  Yes, I hope to find
time to look at package views "in a few months".
 
> Why cannot we change the default and provide a transition path?

It's not apparent that we all want to, it is not easy (not impossible,
just not easy) to do well in one pass, and lots of things need to be
coordinated.  Unprivileged building of packages, and root
installation, while being vastly superior to a kind of superuser
melange from every angle, doesn't help this.

I'm not saying we can't do this, but

1. let's get consensus on this first, and
2. then let's plan the flag day

Regards,
Alistair