On 6 Aug 2006, at 03:28, Clint Adams wrote:
zsh-newuser-install requires every user in my system running zsh
having empty
.zshrc files around. I literally _hate_ tools depending on
unnecessary dot-files
or having startup banners. I think this is also pretty stupid, as all
information given in zsh-newuser-install can be obtained by the
man page.
I would prefer a prominent note in the man page to run zsh-newuser-
install for
first-timers. I don't think zsh is exactly the best shell for
newbyes that don't
know how to lookup a man page.
Which default are you suggesting?
The default should be zsh 4.2 default: no checks at all, since a
runtime check would still be a useless runtime check. This is only
partially possible by disabling the newuser module. Yet, apparently
to the docs, the newuser module is still checked for existence and
loaded if found. I didn't proof-read the sources. The correct
solution would be patching the sources to remove this handling
entirely, because if you really want this behavior, you can put the
zsh-newuser-install invocation in skel so it is called/checked
_exactly_ once, only if the administrator desires, and without manual
handling in the shell itself, like it has always been done.
The documentation is also broken:
The module exists simply to allow the shell to make
arrangements for new users without the need for invervention by
package maintainers and system administrators.
If the package contained the zsh-newuser-install invocation in the
default /etc/skel/.zshrc (so it would be rewritten on first
interactive execution), then there's no work on either part, and
system changes would be correctly preserved.
This is not a rant, just a critique. I simply disabled the
function on my system.
You could create an empty /etc/skel/.zshrc as well.
It would still require an empty .zshrc and runtime checks for no
purpose. You configure your shell exactly once, and you certainly try
to document yourself first. This is such a corner case that can be
handled perfectly with existing systems that I can't believe the
people behind the nice zsh design actually _did_ this.
I'm sorry, I just don't like the way it's done.
--
To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
