> On Oct 15, 2025, at 8:53 AM, Lexi Winter <[email protected]> wrote: > > Matteo Riondato wrote in <[email protected]>: >>> On Oct 15, 2025, at 8:28 AM, Lexi Winter <[email protected]> wrote: > >>> "minimal-jail" is "minimal" without software that doesn't work in jails. >>> dhclient obviously works in jails, but i ommitted it since i thought it >>> was extremely uncommon to use dhclient in a jail. but if this is more >>> common than i thought, we can add it. >> >> It seems you had a definition ("'minimal-jail’ is all minus {what >> doesn’t work in a jail}” AND “is the minimal supported") but ignored >> it for dhclient. That makes the definition not valid anymore. > > yes, your logic is very clever, but i am more interested in actionable > changes we can make to improve the system for users.
Having clear documentation of what these meta-packages should/must/are expected include is an actionable change that improves the system for users: it clarifies to the users what to expect when they install the meta-packages, and clarifies to developers when to add/remove packages to/from the meta-packages. >> It also seem that (before the change), dhclient in jails would not >> have been supported (as ‘“minimal’ is the *minimal supported* >> configuration”, quote yours, emphasis mine), which would have been >> bizarre. > > huh? i never said dhclient in a jail is not supported. > > "minimal supported configuration" means that for a basic installation of > FreeBSD in a multi-user configuration, these are the packages you need > to install. > it doesn't mean you can't install any other packages. that > would obviously be absurd. Gotcha, I misunderstood that. But then, what does “minimal supported” mean, i.e., what role does “supported” play? If one removes a package (e.g., dhclient), is this configuration not supported? You are using terms that seem not well defined: what’s a *basic* (earlier you used the term “standard”…are these equivalent terms?) installation of FreeBSD in a multi-user configuration? Is there a list of packages that, when installed, create a basic (or a standard) installation? How did we arrive to this list? Is it self-defined. e.g., “the packages in minimal define what a basic/standard FreeBSD installation in a multi-user configuration is”? I fear some of the meta-packages may become either a kitchen sink or “too minimal”, if we don’t define exactly what each should accomplish. Thanks, Matteo
