[MacPorts] #36323: Macports should be multiuser friendly

[MacPorts]

#36323: Macports should be multiuser friendly
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  Reporter:  ralph@…      |      Owner:  macports-tickets@…
      Type:  enhancement  |     Status:  new
  Priority:  Normal       |  Milestone:
 Component:  base         |    Version:  2.1.2
Resolution:               |   Keywords:
      Port:               |
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Comment (by ralph@…):

 Replying to [comment:5 ryandesign@…]:
 > Replying to [comment:2 ralph@…]:
 > > (1) some good way is needed of doing things transparently for all
 users - perhaps /etc/paths.d is part of the answer...
 >
 > We considered and rejected /etc/paths.d years ago. /etc/paths.d appends
 to the PATH; we want to prepend, not append.
 >
 > It could possibly be addressed by having the MacPorts installer find all
 users' home directories and modifying all their .profiles; the installer
 does already have root permission to install MacPorts itself. However this
 wouldn't help for users that are created after MacPorts is installed. So
 is this the best solution, or is there another way that it could be
 addressed?

 It doesn't sound ideal, I must admit. There are files in /System which are
 copied across when a new user is created, and maybe these would need
 modifying too - but I'm not sure if that is exactly an approved
 approach...

 > In any case, this request is already filed as #24930. Other specific
 change requests should be filed as individual tickets too.

 OK, but what is needed is a uniform approach for this that is part of
 macports infrastructure, not an adhoc solution for each bit of software
 that needs to do specific set-up operations for users.

 > Replying to [comment:4 ralph@…]:
 > > At the very least, there ought to be a how-to "How to setup up
 macports for multiuser scenarios".
 >
 > Our wiki is editable by anybody and has a [wiki:howto howto section];
 feel free to write such a how-to guide.

 I don't have the expertise to do it, and anyhow, I don't believe this is
 the right approach, as it presumes the person who is writing it knows
 about every piece of software that needs specific setup, which is clearly
 infeasible. This is why it needs to be part of the infrastructure, not an
 afterthought hack.

 > I don't think anybody needs convincing that this would be a good idea; I
 think we all agree on that. We just need to know exactly what aspects of
 MacPorts are inconvenient for multiuser scenarios, and how specifically
 those problems could be corrected by MacPorts.

 (1) At the basic level ports are currently usable by just the user who
 installed them. Ideally they would be usable by all users of the machine
 (unless a user specifically requests personal installation - but that is a
 second level of convenience probably best ignored for now).

 (2) Some ports tell the user to set / modify various script variables.
 This should be done automatically.

 (3) All of the above should work for existing and future users.

 I really don't think the requirements are too hard to write down. Of
 course, that is not to say that there is a simple way to provide them.

 "Ordinary" ports just need to make sure the software is on every users'
 path.

 Ports which require more than this should be advised to do so in a
 standard way, where macports provides some infrastructure support for this
 standard way.

 > > Compare this to installing stuff on Linux - when you do that, it does
 work for all users, without such hackery.
 >
 > I don't have first-hand experience with Linux package managers. How do
 they accomplish this, specifically? Perhaps we can adopt some of their
 techniques.

 I'm not a systems hacking guru either, so don't know, but that is a good
 suggestion.

-- 
Ticket URL: <https://trac.macports.org/ticket/36323#comment:6>
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