On Nov 11 2015, Marc Haber <mh+debian-de...@zugschlus.de> wrote: > Once and for all we're doing _SOMETHING_ right, let's keep it that > way.
I think what Debian is doing right is that it tracks and notifies about changes in configuration files. But that doesn't mean we have implemented it in the right (or best) way. I think the desirable feature to keep is the notification when defaults changed, not dumping documentation and default settings in /etc just so that dpkg can notice when something changed. Putting defaults in /usr, and having a separate tool that (on package upgrade) checks if any defaults have changed sounds like a much better approach, because such a tool could also pick up any change in compiled in defaults. Many programs already have an option to simply dump the complete configuration (including default values). For these programs, it should be enough to save the dump somewhere after installation, and compare it with the previous dump after upgrade. (I'm going to be quiet after this email because I'm not going to work on this). Best, -Nikolaus -- GPG encrypted emails preferred. Key id: 0xD113FCAC3C4E599F Fingerprint: ED31 791B 2C5C 1613 AF38 8B8A D113 FCAC 3C4E 599F »Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a Banana.«