Re: NIS and /etc/passwd

[Brett Lymn <blymn%internode.on.net@localhost>]

On Thu, Nov 14, 2013 at 10:40:17PM +0100, Joerg Sonnenberger wrote:
> 
> This sounds like an even worse layering violation :) But again, I see no
> reason why it should be in the NIS layer nor do I see incomplete records
> belong into /etc/passwd. This brings me back to the question of what
> functionality is required and how can it be obtained in a clean way. If
> it is very useful, it would be desirable i.e. for nss_ldap as well.
> 

This functionality is not a random wart.  It is actually a feature (if
you can call it that) of NIS ever since Sun first released NIS (then
called "yellowpages" until BT hit them with a trademark suit).  Removing
the feature would cause NetBSD to be less a feature and may cause some
admins grief.  I, personally, haven't used that feature on NetBSD but
have done so in the past on SunOS machines to work around boneheaded
applications that insist on all users share a common home directory but
still provide a "normal" environment to the same users when logged into
other machines.  Removing the feature simply because of aesthetics seems
a bit retrograde.

-- 
Brett Lymn
Staple Guns: because duct tape doesn't make that KerCHUNK sound - xkcd.com