http://www.gentoo.org/doc/en/gnome-config.xml has: > If you paid attention to the output of your previous emerge command, you'll > notice that it suggests adding famd to the default runlevel to have nautilus > and gnome-vfs monitor file changes: > > Code Listing 2.5: Adding famd, hald and mDNSResponder to the default runlevel > > # /etc/init.d/famd start > # rc-update add famd default gnome 2.12.2 uses gamin instead of fam; it is stable on amd64, hppa, ppc, sparc and x86. This is causing a lot of people to become confused. I'd link to some forum posts but apparently we're not allowed to do that in bug reports. Since the vast majority of newbie Gnome installs will be of 2.12.2 or newer, the fam instructions should be removed.
(In reply to comment #0) No, it doesn't use gamin by default. It uses whatever you install separately. I use Gnome along with fam -- and despite upgrades and fresh installations, gamin is *not* installed by default; please read the ebuild's R/DEPENDs and USE flags. The einfo in the ebuild points out that you can choose between one or the other; the software does not force you to use gamin instead of fam. As it says, gamin may not be suitable for everyone and may cause problems. It's never worked for me, personally -- though I see that loads o' users on the forums do use it. Same for fam; it's more of a personal preference.
(In reply to comment #1) > (In reply to comment #0) Hmm. Looks like this week's GWN says gamin will become the default on new Gentoo installs. However, gnome still looks for the fam USE flag and still makes use of it. I suppose a note could be put in about gamin vs. fam, though I think there is already a doc that mentions gamin somewhere...
Created attachment 83781 [details, diff] gnome-config.xml.patch Okay, I've attached a patch to reflect current/upcoming changes to Gnome; gamin is used instead of fam. Took out the fam instructions, as the Gnome ebuild has some einfo lines that deal with using fam if gamin doesn't work, so users can just read those instead. Please review and comment! :)
CCing the Gnome herd for additional comments. Does this patch look good to you guys? Any additional info needed?
+If you are switching from <c>fam</c> to <c>gamin</c>, be sure remove +<c>famd</c> from all runlevels and unmerge it. Please be sure rephrase :)
The entire doc needs to be updated and redone. I'd rather see it rewritten than just patched a bit :)
> I'd rather see it rewritten than just patched a bit :) Maybe you should take this bug then.
As for the useflag, fam stands for File Alteration Monitor, both gamin and fam are that. Actually gamin mimics the old fam API. Gamin is certainly preferred by the gnome team above fam, for 2 reaons : * gamin is upstream maintained and fam isn't * fam has almost unfixable flaws that prevent proper mounting/unmounting of devices, giving a lot of problems with (auto)mounting/unmounting of devices
Thanks for the feedback, everyone. Changes made and committed. AllonJL, you're probably right, but this is an interim fix at least to solve this one outstanding issue while we wait for the new, improved doc. :) Oh, and to the original reporter...okay, I retried gamin, and it works beautifully this time. I like it better than fam. :)
