Re: more trouble with 1.1 upgrade
Ian Jackson said: Yes. cron needs to have savelog removed. ok. So what happens when I install the new cron, and /usr/bin/savelog isn't in it? Won't dpkg remove it, since /usr/bin/savelog has been removed from /var/lib/dpkg/info/base.list? Could be trouble... Also, I notice that at did not properly update /etc/crontab. I was left with the following entry: * * * * * rootatrun -d 0.5 Rather than what should have been added: * * * * * rootatrun -d -l 0.5 I'm not terribly familiar with perl, so I don't know why the at.postinst script didn't work. This has been fixed in the most recent at package, I believe. As of version 2.9a-11, it hasn't. The perl script seems to try and fix it, but didn't quite manage to do it on my system (which was 0.93R6). I believe the maintainer of the package is looking into it. -- Scott Barker Linux Consultant [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cuug.ab.ca:8001/~barkers/ (under construction) [ I try to reply to all e-mail within 5 days. If you don't ] [ get a response by then, I probably didn't get your e-mail ] [ (we have a sometimes sporadic connection to the internet) ] Management's biggest problem is all the unemployed people on the payroll. - From rec.humor
Re: kernel headers
Hi, Kevin == Kevin M Bealer [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Kevin But will it break anything major if I don't follow this Kevin guideline, and esp. is there a temporary way to set things up Kevin 'the old way'? Most of what I compile right now wants kernel Kevin headers so it can be compatible with the current kernel (ie Kevin kernel utilities and patches.) For example I have kernel Kevin utilities which use #includelinux/something.h and I keep Kevin catching them raiding the /usr/include directory. If you *sure* you need the latest kernel headers, (and that means that you should put a test in preinst that tests that the correct version is running with uname -r (if that is not necessary, you should rethink whether you really need the very latest), then the accepted method is to just use -I/usr/src/linux/include in the appropiate CFLAGS (provided that kernel-headers or kernel-source exists on the system) Most programs, even if they include linux/something.h, do not really depend on the version of the kernel, as long as the kernel versions are not too far off, they will work. And the headers provided in libc5-dev are just that. manoj -- In Fame's temple there is always a niche to be found for rich dunces, importunate scoundrels or successful butchers of the human race. -- Zimmermam Manoj Srivastava Systems Research Programmer, Project Pilgrim, Phone: (413) 545-3918A143B Lederle Graduate Research Center, Fax: (413) 545-1249 University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 [EMAIL PROTECTED] URL:http://www.pilgrim.umass.edu/%7Esrivasta/
Re: Imake problems.
Christian Hudon wrote: On Mon, 20 May 1996, Dale Scheetz wrote: I find the fracturing of packages into runtime and development sometimes doesn't make any sense. In this case, why is imake and xmkmf supplied in xbase, but the configuration files they need to run properly in the xdevel package. Shouldn't they all be in the same place? It would certainly make using and finding them more straight forward. Agreed. IMHO imake and xmkmf should be together with their config files... i.e in the xdevel package. 1. They're only used when compiling x binaries. 2. Getting a 'xmkmf: file not found' will probably get users thinking I need an x development package. Getting a failed xmkmf run will most probably get the users thinking 'bug!'. I agree with 2. I think I was rather confused and required advice on what to do when xmkmf wouldn't work. It certainly got a Slackware using friend thinking Debian was broken. Your comment is slightly misleading however. I assume you mean bash: xmkmf: command not found. When I ran into this problem xmkmf ran for a while and then stopped with the error xmkmf: file not found IIRC. There may be good reasons to do it the way it is done at present of course. Chris Chris
problems with psnfss and (separately) bind
The problems I have are with psnfss-5.2-1.deb and the bind-4.9.3-P1-2.deb during the dselect installation. psnfss-5.2-1.deb throws out at me the following lines during unpacking: Unpacking psnfss (from .../debian/stable/binary/tex/psnfss-5.2-1.deb) ... dpkg - warning, overriding problem because you used --force: trying to overwrite `/usr/lib/texmf/tex/latex/psnfss/OMLhlh.fd', which is alsot dpkg - warning, overriding problem because you used --force: trying to overwrite `/usr/lib/texmf/tex/latex/psnfss/OMShlh.fd', which is alsot dpkg: error processing /root/debian/stable/binary/tex/psnfss-5.2-1.deb (--insta: corrupted filesystem tarfile - corrupted package archive I ftp'd it from two mirrors and debian.org as well, still ended with the same problem. Since all I used was dselect on the package I can only assume it would be a structural error with the package itself. With the bind package: /var/lib/dpkg/info/bind.postinst: _: command not found dpkg: error processing bind (--install): subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1 I would think this would also to be a distribution error. I surely haven't had much experience with the details of dpkg or dselect, inevitably that's where I am headed. But until I become the true debian package mastermind, has anyone successfully installed (or come into error with) psnfss-5.2-1.deb? And, are the scripts in /var/lib/dpkg/info from the packages themselves (I could only imagine they would be) or do they live somewhere else? thanks, travis
Emacs loadkeys map and 8-bit stuff
For those of you who like Emacs AND Sun keyboards (at least the old ones--I haven't seen a new one lately), please enjoy the following map file. It makes the Caps lock key the Control key, and the control and alt keys meta keys (so your pinky can easily execute C-S-M ;-). It also makes the `~ key an escape, and the backspace key the `~ (like the old Sun keyboards)--you might wish to back out the latter. This file was based off an old Slackware default keymap. I've also enclosed my .xmodmaprc which accomplishes the same thing (it also has lots of magic to map European HP and IBM keyboards to American ones which some may find useful on non-Linux systems without bountiful loadkeys keymaps). 8-bit? Choose an 8-bit character set for xterm (e.g., -adobe-courier-bold-r-normal--14-140-75-75-m-90-iso8859-1). If you use less, add this to your .bash_profile: export LESSCHARSET=latin1 If you use emacs, add this to your .emacs: (standard-display-european t) ;display 8859-1 characters To compose 8-bit characters in emacs, see iso-accents-mode. In xterm, I believe one needs a Compose key. I could use that rarely used, right control key for that (you would change the enclosed keymap file to do that). Bill Wohler [EMAIL PROTECTED] ph: +1-415-854-1857 fax: +1-415-854-3195 Say it with MIME. Maintainer of comp.mail.mh and news.software.nn FAQs. If you're passed on the right, you're in the wrong lane. keycode 0 = keycode 1 = Escape Escape alt keycode 1 = Meta_Escape keycode 2 = one exclam alt keycode 2 = Meta_one alt shift keycode 2 = Meta_exclam keycode 3 = two at at control keycode 3 = nul alt keycode 3 = Meta_two shift alt keycode 3 = Meta_at control alt keycode 3 = Meta_nul keycode 4 = threenumbersign control keycode 4 = Escape alt keycode 4 = Meta_three shift alt keycode 4 = Meta_numbersign keycode 5 = four dollar dollar control keycode 5 = Control_backslash alt keycode 5 = Meta_four shift alt keycode 5 = Meta_dollar keycode 6 = five percent control keycode 6 = Control_bracketright alt keycode 6 = Meta_five shift alt keycode 6 = Meta_percent keycode 7 = six asciicircum control keycode 7 = Control_asciicircum alt keycode 7 = Meta_six shift alt keycode 7 = Meta_asciicircum control alt keycode 7 = Meta_Control_asciicircum keycode 8 = sevenampersandbraceleft control keycode 8 = Control_underscore alt keycode 8 = Meta_seven shift alt keycode 8 = Meta_ampersand keycode 9 = eightasterisk bracketleft control keycode 9 = Delete alt keycode 9 = Meta_eight shift alt keycode 10 = Meta_parenleft keycode 10 = nine parenleftbracketright alt keycode 10 = Meta_nine shift alt keycode 10 = Meta_parenleft keycode 11 = zero parenright braceright alt keycode 11 = Meta_zero shift alt keycode 11 = Meta_parenright keycode 12 = minusunderscore backslash control keycode 12 = Control_underscore alt keycode 12 = Meta_minus shift alt keycode 12 = Meta_underscore control alt keycode 12 = Meta_Control_underscore keycode 13 = equalplus alt keycode 13 = Meta_equal shift alt keycode 13 = Meta_plus keycode 14 = graveasciitilde alt keycode 41 = Meta_grave shift alt keycode 14 = Meta_asciitilde keycode 15 = Tab Tab alt keycode 15 = Meta_Tab shift alt keycode 15 = Meta_Tab keycode 16 = q keycode 17 = w keycode 18 = e keycode 19 = r keycode 20 = t keycode 21 = y keycode 22 = u keycode 23 = i keycode 24 = o keycode 25 = p keycode 26 = bracketleft braceleft control keycode 26 = Escape alt keycode 26 = Meta_bracketleft shift alt keycode 26 = Meta_braceleft control alt keycode 26 = Meta_Escape keycode 27 = bracketright braceright asciitilde control
Re: more trouble with 1.1 upgrade
Scott Barker writes (more trouble with 1.1 upgrade): I got a message from dpkg when installing cron: dpkg - warning, overriding problem because --force enabled: trying to overwrite `/usr/bin/savelog', which is also in package debian-utils Is it the same savelog? Yes. cron needs to have savelog removed. Also, I notice that at did not properly update /etc/crontab. I was left with the following entry: * * * * * rootatrun -d 0.5 Rather than what should have been added: * * * * * rootatrun -d -l 0.5 I'm not terribly familiar with perl, so I don't know why the at.postinst script didn't work. This has been fixed in the most recent at package, I believe. Ian.
Re: dselect complaints
Kai Grossjohann writes (Re: dselect complaints): [Ian Jackson:] On Sun, 19 May 96 14:34 BST, Ian Jackson I know that there are many people who don't like dselect. [...] Suggestions for improvements that don't involve a complete restructuring are still welcome. I don't have any problem at all with the interface of dselect, but I wish it would not depend on the correctness of the Packages.gz file to operate correctly. WIBNI there was an option where dpkg --avail -R were run on the three directories given in ``[A]ccess'' and dselect used that information? I think that could be done without too much restructuring in the dselect code (though I know none of it). You're right, and I've implemented this in 1.2.1. Ian.
Re: regular (aka bsd) compress distribution?
Perhaps we can fix the font-file compression issue instead? Under older releases, the X server actually ran a seperate program (so having uncompress-gunzip did the right thing) to handle both uncompression and bdf conversion. If XFS doesn't already have gzip support it should be easy enough to add (and if I remember right, anything old enough to not support XFS doesn't support compressed fonts either :-)
Quotas problems
Hi. I've tried to install quotas but I've got a little problem. When I make an 'edquota someone', I get : Quotas for user someone: and I don't know what to write after this. I've found no informations in the man, or in the docs. So, if someone has managed to do that or possesses a good documentation, could he send me all the useful informations. Thanks. +-+ | Hugo HAAS |E-Mail : [EMAIL PROTECTED] | | IRC : Bartman| WWW : http://www.cti.ecp.fr/~haash8/ | +-+
SCSI tape not detected
Hi all, I have a system with SCSI disks and an HP DAT drive. I have successfully installed 1.1 base from floppies. Now I would like to access my tape drive but I get no such device when I try to tar from /dev/st?. My SCSI adapter is an Adaptec2940 Ultra. At boot I get a bunch of messages from aic7xxx telling me that my SCSI disks have been detected, then I get a message showing my HP drive but I see no message telling me that the device was detected (I get two of these for my disks). Any suggestions? Thanks, Pino Smith
Re: My complaints
Warning: this is a flame. It's quite a long time since I've been quite so angry and upset at something someone has mailed me. Alan Eugene Davis writes (My complaints): ... What happened to me with dselect _really happened_. What almost certainly happened to you was that you pressed `-' on the line marked `All packages', asking to remove every package on your system. You then confirmed this (hitting Return on the selection screen), went to [R]emove, and failed to stop it in time. I would like to say at this point - before I get into frying your gonads - that I have recently found time to make the descriptive strings and status flags in deselect clearer, so that it is harder for people to think that pressing `-' on an installed package means to do nothing to it. Not that I'm expecting thanks from _you_. Should I go gentle, saying nothing? I felt it would be to everyone's advantage if you had feedback [...] You should show some respect for me. If you want to give feedback you should do so in a helpful and constructive manner. Your original message was not helpful or constructive, and your most recent one was arrogant in the extreme. It was a significantly stressful experience---one of the more stressful I have ever had with Linux, and I have been taking alot of chances over the year and a half since I began with Slackware. SWITCH SARCASM My heart bleeds for you. SWITCH NOSARCASM I did initially have some sympathy for you, but what remained after reading all of your very unfriendly first message has evaporated in the face of your many arrogant, demanding and downright rude messages. [...] must [...] must [...] If you don't like my program write your own or be polite. Furthermore your message betrays a lack of understanding of the details of what's going on. (I don't have time to explain this to you in detail.) I don't really appreciate that virtually everytime I have posted, in good faith (if possibly in a moment's ire), a notice of some negative experience, I have gotten back messages stating what I did wrong. Perhaps you have a habit of sending irate messages to people who are doing volunteer work for you. If so then you can only expect to be flamed. This is not the point: I have not intended to be overly accusatory, That is not how your messages came across. [...] Most of the time I have solved the problems, but others might not have as high a tolerance. Most of the time I put up with people being rude to me when I'm doing them a favour, but it seems that not everyone has as high a tolerance. You have now exceeded mine. [...] And keep it open; if it looks like Debian is setting up an authority-centered system, I won't stay around. I have not place making them, but I offer the following suggestions nevertheless: I don't know where you get this `authority-centred' idea from. Debian, like much of the Linux community, is *code* centred. If and when I see *your* contribution to *my* life rather than just see you being unpleasant about what others have laboured on for your benefit I _might_ be prepared to reply to messages such as yours rather than just filing them. And - you just used another imperative. Clue: WE DO NOT OWE YOU ANYTHING. YOU OWE US - and I'm being very gracious, I think, in asking in return for the work of myself and many others only that you be polite to us. 1. Include informative documentation with everything. In the *nix world I have been impressed by the ubiquity of documentation. I am not exaggerating to say that Debian has had the poorest record. We do not have to take this criticism from you. Put up or shut up - if you're unhappy with the documentation then learn about the system and write it. If this doesn't appeal to you then you'll just have to wait until we have time, in amongst day jobs, leading lives, writing software and flaming people like you, to write some for you. [ other suggestions ] What I see in you is an arrogant, rude person who is all too willing to take others' volunteer work and be highly critical and ready with musts and if you don't do it like this I'll go aways. Quite frankly, I don't give a damn if you go away. If that's your attitude I'd rather not have you as a user. Alternatively, perhaps you'd like to join the project and try being a developer for a change, in which case you'll have the opportunity to remedy many of the problems you observe, and more standing to be critical about the others. Mr Davis, the next message I see from you should contain either an apology or (the announcement of) your contribution of code or documentation to the Debian Project. I do not want to hear any more suggestions, criticisms, defences of your attitude c from you. If you persist I'll killfile you. Yours in anger, Ian Jackson. (I'm speaking personally, here; please don't take any of this as anything official to do with the project.)
Re: nvi segfaults
Someone reported it segmentation faulted in the ncurses library when using the vt100 terminal type logged in from a serial port. I would assume it is getting a null return from tiget*() and not checking for that, etc. Bruce
NE2000 compatible card problem
Dear Linuxer, I have try with several NE2000 compatible cards with 10BaseT and BNC autodetected. None of them works with the 10BaseT interface but works fine with the BNC interface. I did not find information in the Ethernet-Howto. Does anybody know the problem and solution? Thanks, Kent Sin
Re: Where are the new packages put?
**Le 21 May, Dans l'article Where are the new packages put?, ** Yves Arrouye (Yves Arrouye [EMAIL PROTECTED]) écrivait: YAI'd like to know if new packages (like dpkg 2.0, xtel, etc) go: I can't YAeasily find them on the ftp.ibp.fr mirror, for example. YAIs there a list of newly released packages with their location in the YADebian archives? You can use dftp... NB: (or for french users...) There is a list of newly ftp.ibp.fr:/pub/linux files with their location posted on fr.comp.os.linux. The list you want is simply a subset of this list. -- Christophe Le Bars - Email : [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED] 01001DEBIAN0LINUX0110ESPERANTO00101011ML1010010GNU0111 10111010010100011 Utilisez Linux Debian! 10010101001110010
lynx.cfg?
where is this file kept? __ /_/\ _\_\/ 've seen things u ppl wouldnt believe ... attack ships on fire / /\off the shoulder of Orion... i watched C-Beams glitter in the / / /darkness at Tan Hauser Gate ... all those moments will b lost / / / like tears in the rain. Time 2 die. /_/ / \_\/ The Australian Internet Company -- ISP Par Exceliance
Re: Compiling the kernel..
On Wed, 22 May 1996 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: This appears to contain the standard kernel release source tree but has a number of additional things (such as a nifty Tcl/Tk GUI for kernel configurations). make xconfig and make menuconfig are a standard part of the linux kernel now...has been for most of the 1.3.x series kernels. What is the procedure I should take to compile a kernel under debian and to take into account loadable modules, etc.? Also, if I want to get newer kernel releases is there a way to integrate it in with the additional Debian changes for /usr/src/linux? simplest way is to download kernel_source-x.x.x.deb, use dpkg to install it, and then: 1. cd /usr/src/linux 2. configure the kernel with: make config -or- make menuconfig -or- make xconfig 3. make dep ; make clean # this step may not be necessary. i'm not # sure if debian.rules already does it or not. # it can't hurt to do it, though...only takes a # few minutes. 4. touch stamp-configure # if you don't do this, then debian.rules # will overwrite your config with the standard # debian kernel_image package config. 5. build the kernel image package: ./debian.rules kernel_image This procedure will create a kernel_image-x.x.x.i386.deb package in /usr/src, which can be installed with dpkg just like any other package. reboot to run the new kernel. NOTE: if you are recompiling a kernel which is already installed, you will probably want to rm -rf /lib/modules/x.x.x BEFORE you install the new kernel. Otherwise that modules directory will be full of old junk from the last compile. If you are currently running that version of the kernel, and using those modules (i.e. with kerneld or modprobe) then you really should reboot as soon as you've installed the new version procedure is: 1. build kernel version x.x.x 2. rm -rf /lib/modules/x.x.x 3. dpkg -i kernel_image.x.x.x.deb 4. reboot Craig
Re: Quotas problems
I've tried to install quotas but I've got a little problem. When I make an 'edquota someone', I get : Quotas for user someone: and I don't know what to write after this. I've found no informations in the man, or in the docs. So, if someone has managed to do that or possesses a good documentation, could he send me all the useful informations. I mentioned this to the devolper a while ago. Aparantly the new quota package will have a how-to-do-this type file in /usr/doc/quota. Regards, ...Karl -- Karl Ferguson [EMAIL PROTECTED]Tel: +61-9-455-3446 Fax: +61-9-455-2776 Network Manager, A/h: +61-9-480-5958 Tower Networking Pty Ltd (ACN: 072 322 760) | Internet Providers and | t/a STAR Online Services | Networking Solutions |
RE: ping!
From: Simon Shapiro [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yes, very much so, but moved several months ago to lists.debian.org. Pixar does not want the indecency law implications, I think. Actually, I didn't want the indecency law liability directed toward me as moderator - the list was just something I did on my own, not an official Pixar activity. Now, Anders Chrigstrom graciously contributes his services and those of NetGuide (netg.se) in operating the list from Sweden. Thanks Bruce
Re: My complaints
When I'm not working on Debian, I make special effects for a movie studio. There are a lot of high-powered people like me working for free here. All we are asking for is people to run our software and be reasonably nice to us :-) . Ian Jackson raises a valid point in that he is an unpaid volunteer. You are encouraged to make constructive criticism, but he _must_ be treated with respect. Our users deserve respect as well. Thus, everyone involved with the project is expected to maintain a civil tone, without exception. dselect is a very powerful tool, and it is indeed possible to shoot yourself in the foot with it. We are working on the problem. You can help. Thanks Bruce Perens Debian Project Leader
Re: lynx.cfg?
You asked: where is this file kept? The Contents file indicates that lynx.cfg is in /etc. Susan Kleinmann [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: kernel headers
disagree on this issue. I still don't feel it is right to put kernel headers anywhere except with the kernel (or perhaps as their own package). If people So just think of them as libc headers instead of kernel headers. That's really how they are being used when referenced as /usr/include/*. things to break. Debian should concentrate on providing a complete, stable system. This is why the change was made. The new arrangement is more stable. David -- David EngelOptical Data Systems, Inc. [EMAIL PROTECTED] 1101 E. Arapaho Road (214) 234-6400 Richardson, TX 75081
Re: lynx.cfg?
On Thu, 23 May 1996, Fundamental wrote: where is this file kept? /etc/lynx.cfg Craig
Re: problems with psnfss and (separately) bind
On Tue, 21 May 1996 16:00:51 -0500 (CDT), travis breaux [EMAIL PROTECTED] said: travis [...] psnfss-5.2-1.deb travis throws out at me the following lines during unpacking: travis [...] corrupted filesystem tarfile - corrupted package archive I got the same problem. Just get the file from the stable tree, it's got the same version on it, is the same size, but works. kai -- Life is hard and then you die.
Re: netbase: ifconfig error messages
Derek Lee writes: When I use ifconfig, I get the error messages: May 22 01:18:19 boson modprobe: Can't locate module net-pf-4 May 22 01:18:19 boson modprobe: Can't locate module net-pf-3 May 22 01:18:20 boson modprobe: Can't locate module net-pf-5 Is something missing? I have a PPP connection to the outside world, but no local network. This is not a bug at all. When calling ifconfig it tries quite a lot of possible network interfaces. net-pf-5 is appletalk, net-pf-4 is ipx and net-pf-3 is ax.25. If you don't use these add entries alias net-pf-3 off alias net-pf-4 off alias net-pf-5 off to your /etc/conf.modules file and the messages will disappear. Michael -- Michael Meskes |_ __ | / ___// / // / / __ \___ __ [EMAIL PROTECTED] | \__ \/ /_ / // /_/ /_/ / _ \/ ___/ ___/ | ___/ / __/ /__ __/\__, / __/ / (__ ) Use Debian Linux!| //_/ /_/ //\___/_/ //
Re: NE2000 compatible card problem
Dear Linuxer, I have try with several NE2000 compatible cards with 10BaseT and BNC autodetected. None of them works with the 10BaseT interface but works fine with the BNC interface. What kind of cards are these? Do they support _both_ 10base-t and 10base-2, or do you have 2 cards, each which support 1 interface? Are they software or hardware (jumper) configurable? If you have an NE2000 card which supports both 10baseT and 10base2, then you must properly tell it which interface you're useing. This may be done with a jumper on the board, or done with software you should have received with the card. Next, are you sure you have working cables and hub for the 10BaseT? Unlike 10base2 (BNC) you can't connect 2 cards directly together, but must use a hub between them. Most cards and hubs have link lights that light up when a proper connection has been established. If these don't come on, you may have bad cables, or your card may be configured for BNC. I did not find information in the Ethernet-Howto. Does anybody know the problem and solution? Thanks for checking the docs first :). -- - John Larkin - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - http://aij.st.hmc.edu/~jlarkin
Tex and metafont
I have been playing with lyx lately, so I thought it would be a good idea to install latex (lyx uses it). Well latex needs tex which among other things declares a dependance on metafont. I can find no metafont package. I assume it is a virtual package? Which *real* packages provide metafont? TIA, Dwarf -- aka Dale Scheetz Phone: 1 (904) 877-0257 Flexible Software Fax: NONE Black Creek Critters e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] If you don't see what you want, just ask --
Re: problems with psnfss and (separately) bind
travis wrote: The problems I have are with psnfss-5.2-1.deb and the bind-4.9.3-P1-2.deb during the dselect installation. psnfss-5.2-1.deb throws out at me the following lines during unpacking: Unpacking psnfss (from .../debian/stable/binary/tex/psnfss-5.2-1.deb) ... dpkg - warning, overriding problem because you used --force: trying to overwrite `/usr/lib/texmf/tex/latex/psnfss/OMLhlh.fd', which is alsot dpkg - warning, overriding problem because you used --force: trying to overwrite `/usr/lib/texmf/tex/latex/psnfss/OMShlh.fd', which is alsot dpkg: error processing /root/debian/stable/binary/tex/psnfss-5.2-1.deb (--insta: corrupted filesystem tarfile - corrupted package archive This also happened to me the other day but I didn't have time to try several mirrors, just the one I was using. I ftp'd it from two mirrors and debian.org as well, still ended with the same problem. Since all I used was dselect on the package I can only assume it would be a structural error with the package itself. With the bind package: /var/lib/dpkg/info/bind.postinst: _: command not found dpkg: error processing bind (--install): subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1 Don't know about this one, I don't use it. I would think this would also to be a distribution error. I surely haven't had much experience with the details of dpkg or dselect, inevitably that's where I am headed. But until I become the true debian package mastermind, has anyone successfully installed (or come into error with) psnfss-5.2-1.deb? And, are the scripts in /var/lib/dpkg/info from the packages themselves (I could only imagine they would be) or do they live somewhere else? Luis.
Re: SCSI tape not detected
The tape is probably NOT detected because you forgot to compile SCSI tape support into the kernel. Do that and it should work. -- ---MAV (finger for PGP signature block) Marc A. Volovic ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Linguists do it cunningly
ELF emacs and libtermcap
I recompiled emacs 19.30 on my debian 1.1 system so it would be elf. It complained that it needed libtermcap, so I did the trick of linking libtermcap to libncurses (libtermcap.so - libncurses.so.3.0 in /lib). It linked and runs OK under X, but in the console (with TERM=vt100 and TERM=linux) the screen is all messed up in that characters go to the wrong place. The same is true if I dial into the machine and run emacs. Here's the output from ldd: timshel:/usr/local/lib/emacs/emacs-19.30/src$ ldd emacs libXaw.so.6 = /usr/X11R6/lib/Xaw3d/libXaw.so.6.0 libXmu.so.6 = /usr/X11R6/lib/libXmu.so.6.0 libXt.so.6 = /usr/X11R6/lib/libXt.so.6.0 libSM.so.6 = /usr/X11R6/lib/libSM.so.6.0 libICE.so.6 = /usr/X11R6/lib/libICE.so.6.0 libXext.so.6 = /usr/X11R6/lib/libXext.so.6.0 libX11.so.6 = /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6.0 libncurses.so.3.0 = /lib/libncurses.so.3.0 libm.so.5 = /lib/libm.so.5.0.5 libc.so.5 = /lib/libc.so.5.2.18 I have a termcap file in /etc that I saved from my old Slackware system. I put it there for a problem that doesn't exist anymore, but the file is still there. I don't see that emacs' configure program is checking for its existance. I didn't think to try removing libtermcap from emac's link to see if it really was required. Assuming that it still is, why?, and what should I have done? -- ...RickM...
Re: regular (aka bsd) compress distribution?
Stephen Early writes: Is it impossible to distribute a real compress program? I know there may be problems with an LZW patent, but I don't know how they relate to the distribution of a compress program for say personal use. If this is possible I'll make a package for it. If we do have a compress package, it must go in non-free. I'll made a compress package (with compress/uncompress) and a btoa one (with btoa and friends like tarmail et al.) this week. Yves.
Re: lynx.cfg?
On Thu, 23 May 1996, Craig Sanders wrote: thanks to everyone who pointed it out! __ __ __ __/\_\ . Michael Mifsud/_/\__ __/\_\/_/ _--_|\ The Australian Internet Company \_\/_/\__ /\_\/_/\_\ / \ Sydney, NewSounthWales, Oz /_/\_\/_/\ \/_/\_\/_/ \_.--.*/ \_\/_/\_\/ \/_/\_\v /_/\_\/ \/_/\_\/
Re: Tex and metafont
D == Dale Scheetz [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: D I have been playing with lyx lately, so I thought it would be a D good idea to install latex (lyx uses it). Well latex needs tex D which among other things declares a dependance on metafont. I can D find no metafont package. I assume it is a virtual package? Which D *real* packages provide metafont? You are looking for the mf* (mfbin, mflib, etc.) packages. -- Rob
Find+rm security hole in debian?
I received the following concerning a security problem with clean-up
cron jobs that use find+rm.
Any comments from gurus?
-Billy
- -- Forwarded message --
Date: Tue, 21 May 1996 13:10:36 -0400 (EDT)
From: Zygo Blaxell [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [linux-security] Things NOT to put in root's crontab
Sigh. Here are several things I've just removed from /etc/crontab on
every RedHat Linux system I can get my hands on. They contain security
holes related to the use of 'find' and 'rm' to expire old files in /tmp
and other places.
It seems that awareness of this type of security problem is rather low,
so I'll explain the class of problem and how to fix it.
From Redhat's /etc/crontab file:
# Remove /var/tmp files not accessed in 10 days
43 02 * * * root find /var/tmp/* -atime +3 -exec rm -f {} \; 2 /dev/null
# Remove /tmp files not accessed in 10 days
# I commented out this line because I tend to store stuff in /tmp
# 41 02 * * * root find /tmp/* -atime +10 -exec rm -f {} \; 2 /dev/null
# Remove formatted man pages not accessed in 10 days
39 02 * * * root find /var/catman/cat?/* -atime +10 -exec rm -f {} \; 2
/dev/null
# Remove and TeX fonts not used in 10 days
35 02 * * * root find /var/lib/texmf/* -type f -atime +10 -exec rm -f {} \; 2
/dev/null
Folks, do NOT use 'find' on a public directory with '-exec rm -f' as root.
Period. Ever. Delete it from your crontab *now* and finish reading the
rest of this message later.
* PROBLEM DISCUSSION AND EXPLOITATION
The immediate security problem is that 'rm' doesn't check that
components of the directory name are not symlinks. This means that you
can delete any file on the system; indeed, with a little work you can
delete *every* file on the system, provided that you can determine the
file names (though you might be limited to deleting files more than ten
days old).
First, create the directories and file:
/tmp/hacker-fest/some/arbitrary/set/of/path/names/etc/passwd
where all but the last component is a directory. Be ready to
replace 'etc' with a symlink to '/etc', so that:
/tmp/hacker-fest/some/arbitrary/set/of/path/names/etc - /etc
i.e. the path components of the file name will point to a file named
'passwd' in a different directory.
If the replacement operation occurs between when 'find' sets {} to
/tmp/hacker...etc/passwd and when 'rm' calls unlink on
/tmp/hacker...etc/passwd, then rm will in fact delete '/etc/passwd',
and not a file in /tmp. Deleting other files is left as an exercise.
The race condition is really easy to win. Create a directory with 400
path components, like this:
...
[clip]
...
* OTHER PROBLEMS WITH THIS CRONTAB
A user can set the atime of any file they own to an arbitrary value, and
that programs like zip, tar, and cpio will do this for you
automatically; this makes 'atime' an almost useless indicator of when a
file was last used ('mtime' has the same problem). Either the file will
be deleted too early, because it was extracted from an archive using a
program that preserves timestamps, or users can set the atime to well
into the future and use /tmp space indefinitely. The later of ctime (to
detect writes) and atime (to detect reads; must check that atime is not
in the future) is a good indicator of when a file was last used.
...
[clip]
...
* SAFE LRU GARBAGE COLLECTION
Our LRU /tmp garbage collector daemon is available at
URL:http://www.ultratech.net/~zblaxell/admin_utils/filereaper.txt. It
is implemented in perl5. It depends on a Linux-specific 'statfs()'
system call to monitor available free space, so non-Linux people will
need to do a port (send me patches and I'll incorporate them).
Our garbage collector:
handles the above security problems correctly,
handles pathnames more than 1024 characters,
uses smarter last-access estimates than just atime or ctime,
can support permanent subdirectories,
handles files, symlinks, directories, devices, mount points correctly,
can support minimum age of files (e.g. no files 1 day old),
deletes oldest files first,
deletes files only when disk space is low,
and responds in less than ten seconds to low disk space conditions.
Our garbage collector works on any directory where files can gracefully
disappear at arbitrary times, such as /var/catman, /tmp, /var/tmp,
TeX font directories, and our HTTP proxy cache. One directory where
the garbage collector doesn't work very well is /var/spool/news; we
had to hack things up a bit to fix the article databases when article
files disappear.
- --
Zygo Blaxell. Former Unix/soft/hardware guru, U of Waterloo Computer Science
Club. Current sysadmin for Myrus Design, Inc. 10th place, ACM Intl Collegiate
Programming Contest Finals, 1994. Administer Linux nets for food, clothing,
and anime. I gave up $1000 to avoid working on windoze... *sigh* - Amy Fong
- --
Billy C.-M. Chow
