Re: etcupdate destructive tricks

[Alan Barrett <apb%cequrux.com@localhost>]

On Fri, 27 Jun 2014, Thomas Mueller wrote:
> I've updated NetBSD-current system and notice that etcupdate 
> wants to destroy some useful files.
>
> For instance, it wants to destroy /etc.rc.conf, throwing 
> the user back to square zero (square one?).  Also, 
> /etc/master.passwd and /etc/ttys

It's supposed to prompt you about every change, giving you the 
choice of keeping your old file, overwriting your file with a new 
file, merging the two versions, etc.  If it's not doing that, 
please file a detailed bug report.

You might also find the -a and -l flag useful.  I usually use both 
of them.

> I'm watchful to what's happening, and know to hit d to avoid 
> losing my changes; /etc/master.passwd too.

Oh, so it is prompting you, as it's supposed to do, and you choose 
"d" to keep your old file, as is quite reasonable in many cases.

> It ought to be made more user-friendly, rather than 
> user-vengeful.

It is intended to ask you about every single file, and if you 
just hit ENTER instead of giving an answer, it is designed to 
leave the file alone.  It is NEVER supposed to overwrite a file 
without your explicit permision.  Once again, if it's not working 
as designed, them please file a detailed bug report; these vague 
messages about "wants to destroy" and "vengeful" do not provide 
any of the detailed information that would be required to fix any 
such bugs, if they exist.

There's certainly room for improvement.  For example, a three-way 
merge between the older distribution version of the file, the 
newer distribution version, and your version, would be a lot 
more useful than the current two-way merge between the newer 
distribution version and your version.

--apb (Alan Barrett)