Re: SEUL: An idea

[Michael Slade <mslade@cit.nepean.uws.edu.au>]

Roger Dingledine wrote:
> 
> In message <199810161917.PAA02027@hermite.math.uwaterloo.ca>,
>  trwcolem@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca writes:
> >>
> >> A services manager.
> >>
> >> Some Unix systems (generally SYS5-ish ones, I think) have a directory
> >> /etc/init.d with a list of scripts that start and stop services.  This
> >> idea could be extended.  There might be a directory /etc/services.d, and
> >> each file in that directory would contain information about each service
> >> - how to start it, how to stop it, how to configure it, how to find out
> >> about it, and what services need to be running for it to work.
> >
> >Debian uses /etc/init.d for starting services.  There are scripts
> >there that run things, and they can usually take start/stop/restart
> >arguments.
> 
> Similarly, redhat uses /etc/rc.d/{init.d/, rc?.d/, rc*} to do this. It
> determines which services are up for a given runlevel, and it takes care
> of starting and stopping the appropriate services when you change
> runlevels.
> In any case, each distribution (except slackware, maybe? I haven't used
> slackware in 3 years) does it already.

Okay, so most systems use this format.  I didn't mention /etc/rc?.d/
etc.

And yes, Red Hat has something like a services manager.  It lets you
set, for each runlevel, which services get started and stopped.  IMHO
this IS cumbersome, and something the computer can do.

The files in /etc/init.d are scripts, nothing more.  you pass them
"start", "stop" or "restart" to get them to do that to their
corresponding service.

The idea I had in mind was to not just have a script for each service,
but a file that contains the necessary info for a service manager to
start, stop and configure the service, and find out what services need
to be running for a service to start properly.  Also, the service
manager could let you set up configurations and switch between them, and
would start and stop services, in the order required by which services
require which.

Hopefully that's cleared up what I mean. :)

Mick.

-----------------------------+------------------------------
Michael (Micksa) Slade       | Badgers? BADGERS? We don't
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http://mickworld.dyn.ml.org/ |  - Ren Hoek