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List: gentoo-dev
Subject: Re: [gentoo-dev] Re: removing dhcpcd from system???
From: Armando Di Cianno <fafhrd () gentoo ! org>
Date: 2004-10-01 2:11:47
Message-ID: 3cd7dc01e0c45efe8776cce562928ad7 () mudra
[Download RAW message or body]
On 2004-09-30 20:12:07 -0400 Athul Acharya <aacharya@gmail.com> wrote:
> Now perhaps it may be prudent to suggest that a line about emerging
> dhcpcd go in the installation guides alongside the section about
> installing syslog etc. But there remains no reason for it to be in the
> system profile.
Yes, this would be quite prudent.
However, let me offer another way of looking at this. Gentoo is a
OS/"metadistribution" of Linux, as well as the name that encompasses
its tools (portage; Gentoo on MacOSX, etc etc). On systems where, for
most intents and purposes, Gentoo is the OS (i.e. running on top of
Linux, Hurd, whatever), Gentoo should make all attempts to be a usable
OS _by default_.
When a users goes through the handbook, and install, Gentoo, maybe a
note about DHCP support should be in there, but more to the point,
maybe an entire page or section should be placed before the USE flags
page, that describes the extent a user could conceivably alter the
default layout.
Now, the default layout cannot, imho, be solely "additive" in
features. If this where the case, we need to remove /bin/login (in
pam-login), and all /sbin/agetty (in util-linux), as I may be building
for a completly headless server, or something like that.
It's reasonable to say "Well, a user can simply emerge dhcpcd", but it
is as reasonable to say "a user can simply remove dhcpd from _their_
profile".
If a normal Gentoo/Linux install is going to be usable it _has_ to
contain "normal" OS tools. DHCP, even if you do not use it, is one of
these tools. Many, many people use this. Same with /sbin/ifconfig
itself (in net-tools) -- a user may not have a network connection _at
all_.
This phenomenon is especially evident in make.defaults, in any
profile. Any one of us could name tens of use flags he or she turns
off in their own default profile, I'm sure. The point is:
they're_defaults_. They work for a great number of what people want,
so they're in there. If you are not one of those people, then follow
this methodology:
if(feature_i_want->isDefault())
echo "yay";
else
feature_i_want->addToSystem();
if(feature_i_dislike->isDefault())
echo "boooooo"
feature_i_dislike->removeFromSystem();
else
echo "yay";
The "system" here should be the supported default layout, any arch,
any anything, that reasonably supports the greatest numbers of users /
causes us the least headaches down the road when people complain about
missing features. The person who has to remove dhcpcd from their
default layout is less likely to have something important to complain
about than the person who cannot emerge dhcpcd because they have no
dhcp client to connect to a network with!
If Gentoo was a plant, it's simply one you should prune _and_ feed.
This should not be a concept that is difficult to understand.
__Armando
P.S. **sheesh**
--
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