On Sat, Sep 20, 2014 at 1:36 AM, T.J. Duchene <t.j.duch...@gmail.com> wrote: > I do not understand something that has been bugging me for a while and I'd > like to ask the many minds of the list why this would not be possible, > especially since Debian has some of the best Linux people out there, who > have worked on the system for 20+ years. > > Why is it not possible to create a completely generic shell script - > basically ala SysV that can parse systemd config files for those use cases > where Systemd is undesirable?
Shell scripts can parse simple configuration files, in part because simple configuration files tend to either directly use the shell syntax (a custom the systemd crew explicitly eschews) or have a form that can be massaged, via awk, sed, or m4 scripts into shell syntax. (Somewhat simplifying things here.) Systemd config files are not simple. That would not prevent using lex/yacc to define a parser and writing our own parser in C, but, the configuration files are a relatively minor part of the problems with systemd. > What systemd does is basically a generic process of reading parameters from > a file and using them to start a service. If that were true, I don't think anyone would be fussing about systemd at all. That is, if systemd were just a generic service starter, it would be keeping its fingers out of login, file permissions, and all sorts of other stuff that it gets itself entangled with. It would be properly delegating, as the pid 1 process must, if you want to keep a system stable and secure in the long term. > Granted, this approach would have > the benefits that systemd has, but the concerns about systemd being too > opaque or monolithic could be almost mitigated. If your assumptions were correct, mitigation would be meaningless. systemd would be small and simple enough that monolithic and opaque would not be terms that would apply. > The remaining concerns such as login and so on can be addressed separately. Those remaining concerns are where the bulk of the problems lie. -- Joel Rees Be careful where you see conspiracy. Look first in your own heart, and ask yourself if you are not your own worst enemy. -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-user-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org Archive: https://lists.debian.org/CAAr43iN+M=9jdermyebpvps4boigiihu2qqo5w6gekphk-r...@mail.gmail.com
