Conventions when it comes to cron-like launchd items

[Rainer Müller]

Adam Byrtek wrote:
> 1. What is the policy when it comes to cron-like launchd items? The
> Guide covers only init.d-like launchd items. I've just created a
> launchd.plist with StartInterval and I symlink it to
> /Library/LaunchDaemons during post-activate. Should I invoke
> "launchdctl load" in the Portfile or should I inform the user that he
> should do this (like with standard launchd items)? I would prefer to
> do everything automatically if possible in order not to confuse users.

Please do not symlink it in post-activate, but make a copy/symlink in
destroot already. Otherwise this symlink is not registered with the port
and will not be removed on uninstall.

In my opinion new installed services/daemons should not be started
automatically. Most services need configuration and users should
configure them first.

Print a message how to load the LaunchDaemon in post-install (later as
of 1.8.0 it can use the upcoming notes feature).

Also note that post-activate is only run after 'port install', not on
deactivate/activate later (#18273 [1]).

> 2. Munin consists of two components: munin-node that listens on a port
> and provides statistics and munin-server that polls every node every 5
> minutes. Both are distributed in a single source distribution. I'm
> considering either creating two separate Portfiles (munin-server and
> munin-node) or using variants but in this case I'm not sure what
> variants to introduce. Any suggestions when it comes to this?

As they are distributed in separate sources, it is much easier to create
two ports. In this case, the long_description should recommend each other.

Rainer

[1] http://trac.macports.org/ticket/18273