On Sun, 16 Sep 2007, Shawn Walker wrote:
> On 16/09/2007, Paul Armstrong <sunsolve at otoh.org> wrote:
>>> Mike Gerdts wrote:
>>>> On 9/13/07, Danek Duvall <danek.duvall at sun.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> In most cases, these sorts of actions can be
>>> postponed until either the
>>> service is started (for a simple case) or the machine
>>> is rebooted. Very
>>> few third-party packages should need to perform
>>> unique actions before
>>> the machine reboots.
>>>
>>> The problem is that getting scripting correct is
>>> difficult enough when
>>> one is talking about running in a normal context.
>>> Getting the scripting
>>> ight when we're modifying a local zone of a diskless
>>> client on an
>>> alternate architecture down-reved boot server is
>>> downright hard since
>>> so much of the installation environment affects the
>>> script... we want to
>>> defer these sorts of actions until the service
>>> starts.
>>
>> It would seem to me that scripting during a service restart is no better
>> than a package (and possibly worse). Once you've run the script you're in an
>> undefined state and if a package backout occurs then you're in an even more
>> undefined state as there's no way of triggering script backout.
>>
>
> I don't think you're in any more of an undefined state outside the
> packaging process than during to a certain extent. If only because
> that is the same problem that packages create now with their scripts,
> they can do things that the packaging system by itself won't know how
> to undo.
>
> That's why I think Danek's suggestion about integrating functionality
> scripts need into the packaging system and making them use it instead
> of being able to do their own thing is preferable.
>
> This might be a great case for integrating small and fast for
> scripting that's easily "sandboxable," like Lua.
Yep - an interesting suggestion and I've already got Lua on my "to
try" list. The benefit of a more powerful scripting engine is that it
allows the developer to express the problem specific domain in
powerful and easily expressed/manipulated data structures - unlike
shell scripts.
Regards,
Al Hopper Logical Approach Inc, Plano, TX. al at logical-approach.com
Voice: 972.379.2133 Fax: 972.379.2134 Timezone: US CDT
OpenSolaris Governing Board (OGB) Member - Apr 2005 to Mar 2007
http://www.opensolaris.org/os/community/ogb/ogb_2005-2007/
