Re: [gentoo-user] Working on fresh install, question about handbook statement

[Rich Freeman]

On Fri, Feb 10, 2017 at 4:52 PM, Harry Putnam  wrote:
>
> What is really puzzling is the the words `reconfigure' that package.
> But then there is nothing said about what this `reconfiguring'
> consists of.
>
> It used to be we just either copied the appropriate zimezone section
> to /etc/localtime... or symlinked it there.
>
> Can anyone explain what is meant by `reconfiguring' in this context or
> how it is done?
>

emerge --config sys-libs/timezone-data

All it does is copy the timezone data to /etc/localtime.

Setting /etc/timezone is still important, because it ensures that
anytime the package is updated the new data is copied over (a symlink
would also accomplish this).

Using emerge --config is a bit more elegant since it will tell you if
you made any mistakes in /etc/timezone, and perhaps at some point in
the future it might do other things.  But, you are correct that the
instructions used to just say to copy the file and be done with it,
and there is no real harm in doing it that way.  Just introducing
users to emerge --config probably has a little value in it.

-- 
Rich

Re: [gentoo-user] Working on fresh install, question about handbook statement

[John Covici]

On Fri, 10 Feb 2017 16:52:41 -0500,
Harry Putnam wrote:
> 
> I'm part way thru a fresh gentoo install and ran up on something in
> the handbook guide to installing that is puzzling.
> 
> This URL:
> https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:AMD64/Installation/Base#Distribution_files
> 
> From the section of install during the chroot and start of putting
> together the OS.
> 
> Under heading Timezone I find these sub headings showing examples of
> what to do:
> 
>root #ls /usr/share/zoneinfo
> 
>root #echo "Europe/Brussels" > /etc/timezone
> 
> And there is a little part following that says:
> 
>Next, reconfigure the sys-libs/timezone-data package, which will
>update the /etc/localtime file for us, based on the /etc/timezone
>entry. The /etc/localtime file is used by the system C library to
>know the timezone the system is in.
> 
> And sys-libs/timezone-data package is a hyperlink to a page about that
> package.
> 
> What is really puzzling is the the words `reconfigure' that package.
> But then there is nothing said about what this `reconfiguring'
> consists of.
> 
> It used to be we just either copied the appropriate zimezone section
> to /etc/localtime... or symlinked it there.
> 
> Can anyone explain what is meant by `reconfiguring' in this context or
> how it is done?
> 
> The hyperlink leads to some info about the package but there is no mention
> there of reconfiguring either.

I just copied  /usr/share/zoneinfo to /etc/localtime and
have never had any problems.  I also put the name in /etc/timezone and
all seems to have worked for a number of years.


-- 
Your life is like a penny.  You're going to lose it.  The question is:
How do
you spend it?

 John Covici
 cov...@ccs.covici.com

[gentoo-user] Working on fresh install, question about handbook statement

[Harry Putnam]

I'm part way thru a fresh gentoo install and ran up on something in
the handbook guide to installing that is puzzling.

This URL:
https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:AMD64/Installation/Base#Distribution_files

>From the section of install during the chroot and start of putting
together the OS.

Under heading Timezone I find these sub headings showing examples of
what to do:

   root #ls /usr/share/zoneinfo

   root #echo "Europe/Brussels" > /etc/timezone

And there is a little part following that says:

   Next, reconfigure the sys-libs/timezone-data package, which will
   update the /etc/localtime file for us, based on the /etc/timezone
   entry. The /etc/localtime file is used by the system C library to
   know the timezone the system is in.

And sys-libs/timezone-data package is a hyperlink to a page about that
package.

What is really puzzling is the the words `reconfigure' that package.
But then there is nothing said about what this `reconfiguring'
consists of.

It used to be we just either copied the appropriate zimezone section
to /etc/localtime... or symlinked it there.

Can anyone explain what is meant by `reconfiguring' in this context or
how it is done?

The hyperlink leads to some info about the package but there is no mention
there of reconfiguring either.