Subject: why does pkg_delete require root privileges?
To: None <tech-pkg@netbsd.org>
From: Anthony Mallet <anthony.mallet@useless-ficus.net>
List: tech-pkg
Date: 03/05/2002 00:51:18
Hi,

I've successfully installed zoularis on Solaris 7.

I had tree problems though, that are related to the fact that I don't have
root access on those machines:

First: I had to comment the line MAKE_ENV+=     MAKECONF=/dev/null 
in bsd.pkg.mk file, in order to be able to override the default BINGRP,
BINOWN, BINMODE, ... variables (to set them to my user name, not to root)
Is it the right way to do?

Second: although I changed the SU_CMD into a simple 'su -c' (I'm
installing zoularis as a standard user, and can't use root privileges)
pkg_delete still complained about that it didn't ran with uid 0.
I removed the test in pkg_delete/main.c and was able to recompile a
version that worked for me.

Maybe there should be a command line option in pkg_delete that would
remove that test, in the case of someone doesn't want to run pkg_delete
with root privileges ?

Third: in bsd.pkg.mk, I also had to remove a uid 0 test for MTREE: I
still want to use it, but not as root again! Shouldn't this be
configurable also?

Besides this, I think everything else is ok!
Thanks for that great package :)