Mailinglist Archive: opensuse (2629 mails)

[hattons@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Steven T. Hatton)]

All:

NOTE: I CC'ed the guys who wrote the mods to the /usr/X11R6/bin/kde so they
might be able to respond to this.  Please don't include them on replies to this
message.

I just spent hours trying to find out what was happening to my $PATH when I
logged into the KDE.  The first thing that happens is the etc/profile runs. 
This sources the /etc/SuSEconfig/profile.  Then the /etc/profile.d/*.sh, the
/etc/profile.local.  After this, the /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession runs and figures out
where to go to finish the windows manager configuration.  In this case I ended
up in the /root/.xinitrc which lead me to the /usr/X11R6/bin/kde.  I traced
this through by echoing the $PATH via setting TEST_VAR=$PATH.  I finally found
that the path assigned in the etc/profile was being wiped out when the
/etc/rc.config is sourced at the top of the /usr/X11R6/bin/kde.  

Jim Menasian(sp), my CS professor for intro to CS II, would not like this very 
much.  After going all the way through this maze I end up with: 

        PATH=/opt/kde/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin

The first time the path was set in the /etc/profile it was: 

        PATH=/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/usr/X11R6/bin:/bin

The original PATH makes more sense to me.  This second PATH seems to have come
from a more or less default SuSE configuration.  The only good thing in the
second PATH that isn't in the first path is the /opt/kde/bin.  This was in the
path which was replaced by the . /etc/rc.config.  Perhaps there is a good
reason to have done things this way, but I don't understand it.

I dislike the whole meandering sequence of file invocation that take place in
Linux/Unix when user sessions get started.  It is extremely hard to understand,
and often leads to problems.  I believe there is probably a better way to deal
with this whole initialization process.  I don't know what that might be, but I
firmly believe it should be pursued.

I am sorry for criticizing SuSE again.  I only do it with the intention of
improving SuSE and Linux.

Steve

 -- 
For a look at the future click below:
http://www.suse.com   || http://www.linuxbase.org
http://www.kde.org    || http://samba.anu.edu.au
http://www.winehq.com || http://www.mozilla.org
    


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