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Date:      Sat, 01 May 2010 09:38:31 +0100
From:      Matthew Seaman <m.seaman@infracaninophile.co.uk>
To:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: nfe0 startup
Message-ID:  <4BDBE887.7020505@infracaninophile.co.uk>
In-Reply-To: <20100501101513.64204bb6.robertjenssen@ozemail.com.au>
References:  <20100501101513.64204bb6.robertjenssen@ozemail.com.au>

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On 01/05/2010 01:15:13, Robert Jenssen wrote:

> Many thanks to those who responded to my question. It seems that
> waiting for the network to start up is a common problem. Recently
> Jeremy Chadwick proprosed adding a /usr/local/etc/rc.d/waitnetwork
> script. In response others have suggested the more radical step of
> replacing /etc/rc.d with launchd. See Message-ID
> <20100418213727.GA98129@icarus.home.lan> etc. I will await
> developments.

launchd(8) is a very interesting proposition, but it replaces a lot more
than just the RC framework.  It also covers cron(8), devd(8), inetd(8),
init(8)/getty(8).  Unlike RC scripts, launchd does /not/ expect the
programs it manages to daemonise.  In that respect, it's a lot more like
daemontools or the sysV-ish inittab.  While this has advantages (eg. in
being able to restart crashed daemons promptly), it's a very different
way of doing things, and there would have to be concomitant changes all
over /usr/src.  Not forgetting all of the available ported software.

By my estimation, if FreeBSD were to commit to using launchd(8), the
work required would absorb the majority of the available developer time
running up to a major release.  ie. if the decision was taken to go
ahead, as soon as 9.0-RELEASE was branched, work on launchd in
10-CURRENT would have to start immediately, and take priority over many
other development efforts in order to have the following 10.0-RELEASE
up to the quality expected from the FreeBSD project.

I don't think that's going to happen.  I can see a launchd-esque system
being introduced, but it would have to be radically rewritten compared
to what MacOS X uses, offer compatibility shims for all of the systems
it was intended to supplant, and it would take many years of gradual
developent and change to get it to the desired state.

In other words, keep up your RC script-writing skills for the
foreseeable future.

	Cheers,

	Matthew

- -- 
Dr Matthew J Seaman MA, D.Phil.                   7 Priory Courtyard
                                                  Flat 3
PGP: http://www.infracaninophile.co.uk/pgpkey     Ramsgate
                                                  Kent, CT11 9PW
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