[indiana-discuss] "no scripting zone" and isaexec(3C) == architectural

[Shawn Walker]

UNIX admin wrote:
>> The answer is that your software is not correctly
>> packaged for 
>> OpenSolaris 200x :)
> 
> Do you mind pointing out what exactly makes my software "incorrectly packaged" for OpenSolaris?
> Is there a formal specification document which details how and in what places "Indiana" expects to have software packaged?

As noted in:

PSARC/2005/185 Enabling serendipitous discovery
PSARC/2007/048 Include GNU coreutils 6.7
PSARC/1991/061 Packaging rules for system extensions

...many bits of software are moving to /usr :)

Death to /opt/sfw, /usr/sfw, etc.

Deliver to /usr; your life will be simpler, many users will thank you, 
and you won't have this issue.

Alternatively, you can deliver your own copy of isaexec.

> isaexec works with hard links only.
> I have no way to guarantee, that /opt will not be a separate filesystem: it might be shared out via NFS from a different system, for instance; hard links cannot span filesystems, soft links do not work, copying isaexec does not work for several reasons, one of which is that IPS is a "no scripting zone", and another, that by doing a one time copy in "postinstall", the now private copy of isaexec in /opt would not get patched like the one in /usr/lib/ would.
> 
> Do you have any concrete suggestions, other than "your software is incorrectly packaged for OpenSolaris 200x"?

See above.  Your last alternative is to contribute the work to fix 
isaexec.  I think you'll find that many engineers feel that it has 
several design issues, such as the one you've discovered, that need to 
be resolved.

Cheers,
-- 
Shawn Walker