slocate for OpenSolaris [LSARC/2008/447 FastTrack timeout 07/22/2008]

[James Carlson]

Jim Li writes:
> Q4. Suggested that each locate implementation has an update service in 
> smf(5)
> and a cron job.
> 
> Currently we are focusing on enriching the open source projects which can
> be used on Solaris. Don't have enough resources to improve the projects or
> provide extension function.
> 
> In Linux distribution, slocate use anacron to update the index file
> periodically. Anacron is a little bit different from cron job. It
> executes commands at intervals not at specifed time. It does not
> assume that the system is running continuously.

If I understand what you're saying, that seems broken to me.

It sounds like you're saying that slocate works better on Linux today
than it will on OpenSolaris once this project integrates because Linux
has Anacron and OpenSolaris does not, and we provide no alternatives.
The user will be forced to roll his own solution to the problem --
either using slocate in a cron job, writing a script using sleep(1),
or porting over Anacron on his own to fill the gap.

The goal of these porting jobs (as I understand it) is not just to add
a large number of packages to OpenSolaris, regardless of
functionality.  It's to add them in a way that results in them working
as well as or better than on Linux.  If users perceive a regression in
moving from Linux to OpenSolaris, then we've failed.

If we don't have the resources to do this right, should we still do it
anyway?

> Q5. Does user need special privileges to execute updatedb?
> 
> needs Primary Administrator profile.

In that case, I don't think it belongs in /usr/bin.

-- 
James Carlson, Solaris Networking              <james.d.carlson at sun.com>
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