Bugzilla Bug 48210

The current ebuilds for mpd install a "gentoo" config file in /etc/conf.d

Please remove this config file!  It causes me too many support headaches, as ppl need to work around problems or change config settings by creating a "real" mpd config file.  So, commonly they add new config options to the gentoo config file, and obviously they do not affect in mpd at all!

Please remove the gentoo config file!  If a default config file is to be installed, use the default one from the mpd source package. and place it at /etc/mpd.conf (or whereever you see fit, and change the init.d scripts appropriatly).

Reproducible: Always
Steps to Reproduce:
1.
2.
3.

Created an attachment (id=29579) [details]
new mpd ebuild

This is a new version of the mpd-0.10.3 ebuild that installs the config file to
/etc/mpd.conf and uses the author's example from the source.  Only thing to
think about is why did the previous version install to /etc/conf.d/mpd and
should the defaults (for example the log file and error file location) be
changed to match Gentoo ideas.

Hope this helps

Oh and here's the diff between the original version 0.10.3 ebuild and my new
version if you'd rather see that:

<       insinto /etc/conf.d
<       newins ${FILESDIR}/mpd.conf mpd
---
>       insinto /etc
>       newins ${S}/doc/mpdconf.example mpd.conf
56c56
<       einfo " LOG_FILE and ERROR_FILE in /etc/conf.d/mpd"
---
>       einfo " LOG_FILE and ERROR_FILE in /etc/mpd.conf"

the gentoo way works... if users want to do it another way, they're free to
change the init scripts to suit their needs.

Then in the next release, I will remove the ability to start mpd with command
arguments.  Then the "gentoo way" will not work.

Thank you,
-shank

PS: I don't find it acceptable, that gentoo must have their own config file,
that does not work with the config paramters specified in the mpd manpage!  It
is entirely too confusing to users to remember there is a "real" mpd config
file, for which there is documentation for in the mpd man page, and there is a
"gentto" config file that has nothing todo with the mpd config file.  In fact,
if a sure specifies a real config file, it will not use gentoo's at all!  At
the very least, until i break the gentoo config file in the next release, a
note should be specified in the gentoo config file that this is not a real
config file, and that the parameters in the mpd man page will not work with the
gentoo config file!  

Or you can simply just remove the gentoo config file and install a default
config file.

There's absolutely no reason to have a redundant, and more importantly: 
incompatible_ configuration file anywhere in /etc when MPD has a perfectly good
config file already.

Check out the init script (mpd.init), mpd.postinst, and the libmpdconf shell
function library I did for the Debian MPD package if you want some ideas:

http://des.petta-tech.bogomips.org/~eric/viewarch.cgi/eric@petta-tech.com--2004a

Although I maintain Debian packages, I wrote the functions of libmpdconf with
ALL distributions in mind and plan on submitting it to be included with MPD
itself soon.

Ugh, URL got truncated, sorry about that:

http://des.petta-tech.bogomips.org/~eric/viewarch.cgi/eric@petta-tech.com--2004a-ordinary/debian-mpd--devel--0.1--patch-11/

I have used mpd under gentoo for some time and found it necessary to rewrite
the init script so that it would work correctly with mpd's standard
configuration file. I have uploaded the new /etc/init.d/mpd script to
http://www.maltastart.com/~whitelynx/programming/downloads/mpd . The current
state of the gentoo ebuild for mpd is not only confusing for new users (finding
that they have to put the configuration options in a completely different file
than the one they first had to edit), it also causes problems for the mpd devs
having to explain the whole situation to other users. mpd already has its own
configuration file (/etc/mpd.conf) and it should _not_ require any command-line
arguments to run, as this was meant for debugging purposes or for running
multiple mpd daemons at different ports. It was not meant to take the place of
mpd's original configuration file. Please remove the /etc/conf.d/mpd file and
instead copy the example configuration file from mpd's manpage to /etc/mpd.conf
.

Jeremy, the current init scripts will use the correct /etc/mpd.conf file and
ignor the conf.d if the /etc/mpd.conf exists.  There's no need for the init
scripts to change, the only thing is that the /etc/conf.d file doesn't support
all of the options available in the mpd man pages.  Thus when I tried to add
more options, they were ignored and my attempts to debug only led to me
frustrating the developer.  Now maybe I should have come here first, but once
the developer and I figured it out, I rewrote the ebuild to use the config file
suggested by the mpd dev.

Is there any reason why the gentoo way is better?
To me it only seems to add layers of confusion.  Can someone explain why gentoo
chose to go this way?

Yes, the current init script _does_ break mpd. Please see why this bug came
into existance: http://www.musicpd.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=242 . This is not
the first time this has happened. It's just confusing, and there is really no
reason it should be like this.

re: comment #4

All the configuration information for /etc/init.d/<init script> is contained in /etc/conf.d/<init script> when possible.  It is too confusing for users to have a different configuration script in a different location for every package they install.

the /etc/conf.d/<init script> file sets environment variables for the init script.

Additionally, intentionally breaking a distribution's init script because you do not like the way the distribution handles things is not very professional.

re comment #5, #6, #7:

Thanks, I'll take a look at Eric's Debian script and David's modified gentoo script alternatives...

ok, i've reworked the init script.

Thanks for your help Jeremy, and I'm sorry for being an ass.

As far as the "location" of the config script, i personally do not care where it is, so long as the config script can take the same configuration parameters in the manpage of mpd, or it is clearly marked in the config file, where to put those paramters.

I'm sorry for acting childish.

Thanks,
-shank

thanks... no hard feelings ;)