Stupid end-user tricks: darcs for /etc and /boot

[Alexander Skwar]

gonzlobo wrote:
> Wow, I could've used that back in my Gentoo days. They have this thing
> called etc-update that will *completely* hose your system (if you're not
> careful).

Actually, it's the other way around - you have to try hard to have
etc-update hose your system.

In Gentoo, configuration files are never overwritten. Instead, a new
version of the configuration file is saved as ._cfg0000_name, eg.

	/etc/._cfg0000_login.defs
for
	/etc/login.defs

When you now run "etc-update", you get a display like this:

[15:17:52 vz6tml at dewup-ww02:~/,NFS,/public_html/pdf-prints] $ sudo etc-update
Scanning Configuration files...
The following is the list of files which need updating, each
configuration file is followed by a list of possible replacement files.
[...]
 6) /etc/login.defs (1)
[...]
Please select a file to edit by entering the corresponding number.
              (don't use -3 or -5 if you're unsure what to do)
              (-1 to exit) (-3 to auto merge all remaining files)
                           (-5 to auto-merge AND not use 'mv -i'):

Now you type "6" to get a diff of the file. After that:

1) Replace original with update
2) Delete update, keeping original as is
3) Interactively merge original with update
4) Show differences again

"1" is for "mv -i" and "2" for "rm -i".

So, please stop the FUD. It's hard to have the Gentoo etc-update
hose your system.

Is there something like this for Debian (and thus Ubuntu)?

Alexander Skwar
-- 
Dreams are free, but there's a small charge for alterations.