On 12/18/2011 11:05 AM, lynn wrote:
An annoying problem came up recently when discussing Linux distros. A dedicated Mac user told me he'd never change to Linux because every distro is different. What he meant was that he has Ubuntu on a vm and I was showing him some openSUSE stuff. He was lost when he needed to look at /var/log/syslog because on openSUSE it gave him an error. He had already made his point.
Is there any communication between distro devs as to where stuff goes? It seems to be anywhere you like, despite e.g. that the fsh saying it should be /var/log/messages
The example we were working on was bind 9, the latest version of which is not available on Ubuntu, so he was trying to compile from source. The Ubuntu bind9 apt-get stuff creates /etc/bind for config files, openSUSE uses /etc and the official bind docs suggest /srv/named/etc. But that's just the start. The directory could be /var/lib/named or anywhere else you can think of. Then is it /etc/init.d/bind9 start, /etc/init.d/bind start, /etc/rc.d/init.d/bind9 start, service bind start, service bind9 start, service named start, /usr/sbin/named -c /etc/named.conf, start bind, start bind9, rcnamed start, /etc/init.d/named start. . .Should it run bind:bind, named:named, root:named, root something else. . .
On a mac, this doesn't arise. He said.
I think he has a good point. Is this the price we pay to be able to have it anyway we like? L x
If you are going to use Linux, then stop trying to memorize actions and other details by rote. We do not WANT that much uniformity among distros. The only uniformity we want is about principles and standards, not necessarily most details. If you or your user needs to live in such a limited, gilded cage world, then please do not attempt to use linux or any other unix in the first place. That is the answer. If you want to enjoy the benefits of flying a helicopter instead of driving car, then you either have to put in the time and have the ability to learn the far more complex task of flying (and maintaining) a helicopter, or pay someone else to fly for you. There is no other option. -- bkw -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org