Date: Tue, 01 Dec 1998 19:12:51 -0800 From: Mike Smith <mike@smith.net.au> To: Luoqi Chen <luoqi@watermarkgroup.com> Cc: mike@smith.net.au, committers@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: full path of sysctl in bsd.port.mk? Message-ID: <199812020312.TAA02182@dingo.cdrom.com> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Tue, 01 Dec 1998 20:18:58 EST." <199812020118.UAA29476@lor.watermarkgroup.com>
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> > > Usually I build ports as a regular user (only install them as root), so sysctl
> > > is not in my path and the build fails with the message,
> > >
> > > sysctl: not found
> > > "/usr/share/mk/bsd.port.mk", line 410: warning: "sysctl -n kern.osreldate" returned non-zero status
> > >
> > > Can we specify the full path name of sysctl in bsd.port.mk?
> >
> > Sysctl should be in your path; it's a general-purpose enquiry tool.
> >
> It's in /sbin and I don't include it in my path as a non-root user. Isn't
> it a unix convention that system binaries (/sbin /usr/sbin) are included only
> in superuser's path? Most of them require root priviledge anyway. For the few
> that I do use frequently as a regular user (e.g. ping, traceroute), I have
> aliases for them in my shell's setup.
>From hier(7):
/sbin/ system programs and administration utilities fundamental to both
single-user and multi-user environments
sysctl is a system program fundamental to both single-user and
multi-user environments. It's a popular misconception that */sbin
contains administrator-only programs; one that is popular amongst the
sort of admins that like to keep their users as much in the dark as
possible.
As the general interacive interface to the system MIB, sysctl
definitely belongs in /sbin.
In regard to your point about having the full path to sysctl in
bsd.port.mk, I'm inclined to agree that for robustness' sake you're
right.
--
\\ Sometimes you're ahead, \\ Mike Smith
\\ sometimes you're behind. \\ mike@smith.net.au
\\ The race is long, and in the \\ msmith@freebsd.org
\\ end it's only with yourself. \\ msmith@cdrom.com
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