Overwriting config files

[Boey Maun Suang]

Hi Brian,

> I have had some issues lately with upgrades overwriting config  
> files (postfix, apache2).
> Should I create a ticket for these issues, or is this being fixed  
> in this ticket:
> I noticed this ticket: http://trac.macports.org/projects/macports/ 
> ticket/2365

The ticket you mention is a proposal for an addition to the MacPorts  
core, and it appears that it will need significant work before it can  
be closed.  The current procedure is for individual port maintainers  
to rename configuration files that should not be overwritten on  
upgrade (e.g. by appending ".sample" to the end of the filename);  
people who install those ports then create a file without the suffix,  
possibly using the example file as a template, and this latter file  
is used as the local configuration file.  The port should at least  
give you information at installation time about which files this  
applies to.

I can thus see two potential causes for your problem.  The first is  
that you mistakenly made the "*.sample" files your configuration  
files, in which case there may be a documentation problem, and you  
could help us by pointing out where you think such documentation  
ought to go.  (We are currently completely re-writing the old  
MacPorts guide, so if you could take a look at the current unofficial  
development version [1], suggestions would be most welcome.)

The second is that the port misses some configuration files that  
should be made examples, in which case fixing any such failures would  
the province of the individual port maintainers, and it would be best  
for you to file individual tickets in Trac, addressing the Cc: field  
to both yourself and the port maintainer.

If you're not sure as to which of the above is occurring, or if you  
think that the problem might be of another kind, please indicate  
which files are being overwritten on upgrade and we'll see what we  
can suggest.  I hope that this helps.

Kind regards,


Maun Suang

[1] http://geeklair.net/new_macports_guide

-- 
Boey Maun Suang (Boey is my surname)
Email: boeyms at macports dot org