FWIW: I've made some additions to the etc-update script so that it will auto update config files that have never been modified by the user. The modifications borrow from Naan Yaar's script at http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=13390 which was mentioned to me in this thread: http://article.gmane.org/gmane.linux.gentoo.devel/6726 I just noticed that there are some excellent folks working on a python replacement of etc-update at http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=14079. Anyways, here is a snippet of comments from the top of the modified etc-update script that explains how it works. #!/bin/bash # Copyright 2002 Gentoo Technologies, Inc. # Distributed under the terms of the GNU Public License v2 # Author Brandon Low <lostlogic@gentoo.org> # # Previous version (from which I've borrowed a few bits) by: # Jochem Kossen <j.kossen@home.nl> # Leo Lipelis <aeoo@gentoo.org> # Karl Trygve Kalleberg <karltk@gentoo.org> # # ---- auto update feature ---- # Jeff Kowing <jkowing@ghg.net>: I borrowed lots from # Naan Yaar (see his script at http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic.php?t=13390) # # Auto update works as follows: # # It saves the original md5sums of configuration files as found in the # /var/db/pkg directory. After an update, a ._cfg* file will # automatically replace its corresponding config file if that config # file was never modified. This is determined by comparing the config # file with the saved original md5sums. # # Here is a typical procedure for using the auto update feature: # # 1. Create and keep safe a CONFIG.md5sum file which contains all the # config file md5sums, by typing: # # etc-update md5sum -f CONFIG.md5sum # # 2. Now do your big emerge, e.g.: # # emerge -u world # # 3. Afterwards, see what config files will be automatically updated. # # etc-update auto -f CONFIG.md5sum --dry-run # # 4. If things look okay, then do it: # # etc-update auto -f CONFIG.md5sum # # 5. Be sure to save your new md5sum's before the next big emerge. # # etc-update md5sum -f CONFIG.md5sum # $ etc-update -h Usage: etc-update etc-update auto [-f <file>] [--dry-run] etc-update md5sum [-f <file>] etc-update [-h | --help] Details: etc-update With no arguments, etc-update will perform an interactive update of your configuration files. etc-update auto [-f <file>] [--dry-run] -f <file> Name of the md5sum file. Default is CONFIG.md5sum --dry-run Don't do the replacement. Use this command AFTER a big emerge. It will automatically replace config files with their ._cfg* counterparts. Only the configuration files that have not been modified will be automatically replaced. To determine which configuration files have been modified, you must have saved a md5sum file that was generated BEFORE the big emerge. To do so, use the 'etc-update md5sum' command described below. etc-update md5sum [-f <file>] -f <file> Name of the md5sum file. Default is CONFIG.md5sum Use this command BEFORE a big emerge. It will output a md5sum file of the configuration files at the time they were installed. You should save the output before doing a big emerge. You will need it to run the 'etc-update auto' command. Exiting: Done.
Created attachment 7705 [details] Added auto update feature. The modifications are based upon a /usr/sbin/etc-update from portage-2.0.46-r9. Be careful using this very minimally tested script!
Great! I like it. Thanks Maurizio
Hi, I've tested this script and it really works great. That's really nice to see this feature implemented. I think the next step is to simplify the usage of the script. Here is how I see it: - CONFIG.md5 should have a standard location (maybe somewhere in /var/db/portage) - 'etc-update' should do the following three steps: "auto", then "interactive", and then "md5" (where "interactive" is the current default behavior). I think that this way, if someone always use etc-update when needed, then CONFIG.md5 will always be in an up-to-date state, at least if he does all the updates at the same time. Maybe there should be a confirmation asked for the "md5" step if some ._cfg files remain when the user leaves the interactive step. - some "auto-only", "interactive-only" and "md5-only" options could be added to override then previously described 3 in 1 behavior. What do you think about this 2 cents ?
Created attachment 7784 [details] Removed comments so script will actually replace the /etc files. Drats. I forgot to remove some comments that prevented the script from actually replacing the config file with its ._cfg* counterpart. Sorry about that.
Yes. I think your 2 cents http://bugs.gentoo.org/show_bug.cgi?id=14666#c3 is worth more than that! That all sounds good to me. Alain (alain@gentoo.org) has also educated me some on the existence of a /var/cache/edb/config database and Alain has great ideas about saving the original config files for later smart merging. I believe Alain and others are working on eventual replacements for etc-update that are more integrated into the portage/emerge system. But until then, it is pretty easy to hack some more on etc-update. The problem, as always, is finding the time to do it! By the way, I just used etc-update to auto update about 52 config files after a emerge -u world. Everything seems to have gone okay. -jeff
You totally rock. I was just about to my own version of this (same heuristic -- md5sums to detect changes), but decided to read GWN first... and voila. I was also toying with the idea of trying to detect when the only thing that has changed is comments -- this seems to constitute a large number of et-see changes. But this should solve the vast majority of trivial conf updates.
bug 4709 has a patch for portage so that it is done automagically *** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 4709 ***
