media-libs/fontconfig-2.2.1 overwrites all the files in /etc/fonts/ without notification. There are user-configurable files in this directory that should not be overwritten but instead should allow to be merged with a utility like etc-update or something. It is very confusing to me why my fonts revert to being messed up after an emerge and I had no idea why until I discovered that the fontconfig package overwrote /etc files (?!). Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1. emerge media-libs/fontconfig 2. witness your carefully configured (in /etc/fonts) fonts all messed up 3. data in /etc/fonts/ dir lost forever without notice. Expected Results: the new files for /etc/fonts/* should be ._cfg0000_* named instead, and then merged like all other /etc config files in Gentoo linux.
This is a feature, not a bug. You get plenty of warning at the end of the build to not put your configuration options in fonts.conf.
Hmmm... well what about /etc/fonts/local.conf ? That gets overwritten too. And if you're not supposed to set your config in /etc/fonts/* files, why are they in the /etc/ sub-tree? they should be in /usr/ or something.
because config files go in the /etc/ tree, they are not immutable you can change them if you want. We just don't recommend you doing it and go for local.conf or your users ~/fonts.conf . I just checked the fontconfig ebuild, it should fall under the same rules as any other config file.
In /etc/fonts/fonts.conf: " DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE. IT WILL BE REPLACED WHEN FONTCONFIG IS UPDATED. LOCAL CHANGES BELONG IN 'local.conf'. " ...okay, so if I make my changes in local.conf they get overwritten. And you say that's A-okay? You say you can change the /etc config files if you want, but you and your package will come along and overwrite them. without notice. losing data. nice. ...and then you ignore the bug report. look, the fix is simple: create ._cfg0000_* files instead of overwriting them (like it should do and all the other gentoo packages do). Please don't ignore this bug report. Or at least _try_ to give a better explanation because I am not the only one who is going to lose data because of this package.
hmm as i in short said in #3, /etc/fonts/local.conf falls under the normal rules for config files in /etc . It shouldn't get overwritten. The part in the ebuild where fonts.conf is overwritten is quite clear, there is no such part for local.conf. Your argument is based on a wrong assumption. PS. there is no need to forward the bugmail to me, i get changes to bugs.
I am assuming that /etc/fonts/local.conf gets overwritten along with fonts.conf because all 3 files in that directory get overwritten and have the same timestamp. /etc/fonts/local.conf should definitely not be overwritten because it has presumably the sysadmin's customizations in there. It appears though that it does get overwritten. If I am wrong, then this matter is resolved. But if it is being overwritten then this is a bug.
If you had only checked this in a real situation by now, you would've known i am right and i wouldn't have to assure you for the third time that local.conf falls under normal config file handling.
Okay. You are right. This bug should have never been opened. I feel like an ass. But at least if anyone asks it's documented in a bug report now.
Well, i suppose i came off a little irritated there, i'm sorry for that. The initial question about fonts.conf is a valid one, but i think the overwriting is the best solution at giving our users the best possible default configuration right now. And the message mentioning this special case often scrolls by without being noticed, i hope future portage versions will fix that.
