Package: apt Version: 0.5.4 Severity: wishlist It would be most useful if were possible to configure a hook in apt such that all of the apt client tools, apt-get, aptitude, dselect, etc., would run a local configuration script after the current operation has completed. This would allow site local policies to be configured to automatically perform additional configuration after system changes have been performed with apt. This would be run after the package maintainer postinst scripts have run.
Among other things I am thinking of something similar to /etc/kernel-img.conf's ability to set postinst_hook to a script to trigger additional actions. This trigger allows another level of configuration and allows grub to adjust the boot menu automatically. (Although obviously this item for apt should be specified within the /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/ option framework.) Alternatively a subsystem operating along the lines of dpkg-divert or dpkg-statoverride might be a good interface. Then a site local package could be created and installed which would register triggers to be called when certain actions occurred to certain packages. When mail-transport-agent is changed a trigger depending upon it could perform additional configuration. And this way when the package was removed all of the associated triggers would also be removed and everything would be left in a clean and tidy state. One example use would be for a site to use a script to configure bind or postfix or other package for the site network. A postinst_hook script could automatically configure the local files beyond what is possible for the package to know about generically. I do this currently. After an apt install I run a script which finishes the configuration. My site local script modifies the configuration files, including conffiles, as is desired for local site operation. But today the scripts need to be run manually because there is no way to have them run automatically. The ability to run them automatically would make the user interface simpler. Things would have the ability to "just work" more completely even when additional site specific configuration is needed. On an individual package basis a package could create their own hooks in their maintainer scripts. But I think that if implemented at the package level each package would be different and it would be terribly inconsistent. Putting this in the management software framework would keep this consistent for all packages. Thanks Bob Proulx <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
