Rainer Gerhards wrote: > Hi all, > > I would appreciate your feedback on backward compatibility. I have > started to create a loadable input module interface in rsyslog v3. My > first input module is the mark message handler (because it has almost no > code, so it was a good example of what needs to be done...). I have now > basically have finished an initial version. The interface needs to be > changed in the longer term, but I'll postpone that until I've done a bit > more work on the config interface. Now I am facing a problem with > backward compatibility: > > In sysklogd/rsyslog pre-v3, the -m option controls how often mark > messages are written (with -m0 disabling this mechanism). In v3, the > $MarkMessagePeriod config file directive does the same. However, a > $modload immark is necessary to activate that functionality because > otherwise the module is not loaded (which is good if it is not needed). > When trying to remain backward-compatible, I have an issue when the -m > option is absent. If so, that means a mark message period of 20 minutes. > However, it is hard to detect what may be intended in v3 if this option > is not present. Does it mean the former default (running as a drop-in > replacement) or does it actually mean that no mark messages should > appear if no such directive is in rsyslog.conf? > > Do you think it would be acceptable to not emit messages in this case, > slightly breaking backward compatibility? Or should I come up with a > solution. The later would probably require a specific option setting to > disable the -m option and its default (somehow telling "I am not running > in v2 compatibility mode"). > > I am not sure what is best...
i would use the opportunity and not hesitate to use a make-everything-right-even-if-we-break-something approach. upgrading seems to not be trivial, as one needs to go through the config files anyway. so lets do things right and maybe issue some error/warning message on obsolete options (like -m). cheers, raoul ps: i hope i'm getting you right ;) -- ____________________________________________________________________ DI (FH) Raoul Bhatia M.Sc. email. [EMAIL PROTECTED] Technischer Leiter IPAX - Aloy Bhatia Hava OEG web. http://www.ipax.at Barawitzkagasse 10/2/2/11 email. [EMAIL PROTECTED] 1190 Wien tel. +43 1 3670030 FN 277995t HG Wien fax. +43 1 3670030 15 ____________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________ rsyslog mailing list http://lists.adiscon.net/mailman/listinfo/rsyslog
