Bug#796368: /etc/init.d/exim4 hardcodes configurable parameters

[Andreas Metzler]

Control: tags -1 wontfix

On 2015-08-21 Lars Timmann <L at rs.Timmann.de> wrote:
> Package: exim4-base
> Version: 4.86-2
> Severity: wishlist
> Tags: patch

> Hi exim4-base-maintainers!

> At Ubuntu I filed a bug (RFE) as
>   https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1486626 .
> Robie Basak pointet me to the debian maintainers.
> So here I am :-).

> The config gives possibilities to get the own config into the
> Debian/Ubuntu exim4 environment, but the inflexible /etc/init.d/exim4
> start script does not.

> I changed some lines and the executing shell to make it more flexible.
> The script tries to get as much as it can from exim4 -bP <variable> so
> the exim config defines the values. In my opinion this makes sense
> because the started exim daemon is running with this config.

> For example if you change the logging location, the startscript should
> look for the paniclog at the new location.

> I am living on Ubuntu/trusty the package I pulled for the patch is from
> http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/main/e/exim4/exim4-base_4.86-2_amd64.deb
> which is sid I think.

> Please take a look on my changes and please ask if there are questions.

> Thank you for your time and work!

Hello Lars,

I will not apply this:
* The initscript already is too complicated, the patch makes it more
  so.
* /bin/sh -> /bin/bash: This will just increase execution time.
* Support for running as a different user/group than the compile-time
  default: This is not recommended way to run exim. Ownership of the
  run time configuration file and the use of the -C and -D command
  line options is checked against the values in the binary, not what
  is set in the configuration file.
* Checking for paniclog somewhere else than /var/log/exim4: That does
  not really work, since some errors (e.g. unreadable config-file)
  still end up in the compile time default location.
* Different pid-file directory/file name. - This looks like something
  only a very small minority of installtions wil change.

All in, the changes add complexity and are only useful in cornercase.
These are already supported well enough by the fact that the init file
is a dpkg-conffile, imho.

cu Andreas
-- 
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