In message <Pine.NEB.4.33.0212071955390.12035-100000@vespasia.home-net.internet
connect.net>, Bill Studenmund writes:
>On Sat, 7 Dec 2002, Julio Merino wrote:
>
>> On Sat, 7 Dec 2002 14:15:23 +0100
>> Ronald van der Pol <Ronald.vanderPol@rvdp.org> wrote:
>>
>> > On Fri, Dec 06, 2002 at 13:24:22 -0500, Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:
>> >
>> > > In fact, if you try to build using the top-level Makefile and without
>> > > setting DESTDIR, ...
>> >
>> > I am still confused about the safest way to rebuild NetBSD. In FreeBSD
>> > I do 'make buildworld' and if that finishes without problems a
>> > 'make installworld'. What is a safe way to rebuild NetBSD?
>>
>> Using a DESTDIR, and then making the tgz sets (by "hand") to install them
>> over the system. This way, if the build fails, you will broke nothing.
>
>Why not use build.sh to make a release? It will make the sets for you. And
>if you do an unpriv'd build, you need to do something to get the
>permissions right.
>

The problem is that installing a release from sets is an annoying 
process.  You have to zap all the things that a full installation 
needs but you already have (i.e., root's crontab), and take the usual 
care with /etc.  etcupdate is a big step forward, but I'm still not at 
all satisifed with the ease of upgrading.  (Note:  this isn't to say 
that tar-ing DESTDIR on top of the running system is easier -- it's the 
same set of problems.  But I wish there were an easier way to keep 
-current.)

		--Steve Bellovin, http://www.research.att.com/~smb (me)
		http://www.wilyhacker.com ("Firewalls" book)