Re: and yet another zdnet "article" re: Lnx

[Dirk H Bartley <bartleyd2@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Adam Williams wrote:
> 
> >>Not neccesarily true.  98.44% of people can get the sendmail
> >>functionality they want by spending 15 seconds in Linuxconf.  Are you
> >>saying sendmail is simple? :)
> >Sendmail is most definitely not simple.  It has features I will most likely
> >never use in my lifetime.  Do I need to know every little detail about how to
> >configure.  NO.  Is it immoral to use Linuxconf to get the functionality I
> >need.  NO.  But, what if I need the results of linuxconf where I can not use
> >it.
> 
> The "correct" way to configure sendmail is to generate the file via M4
> scripts (described in my Sendmail presentation) but this is certainly not
> simple (but easier than editing sendmail.cf).  But it does avoid loosing
> configuration parameters between  version upgrades.

Presentation Aug 17, 1999,  I don't think I knew what KLUG was then.  The first
one I went to was about the use of Linux by the blind.  I remember Dec 21, 1999,
performance tuning though.

> 
> >>How about looking in /proc?  Or running strace, fuser, or lsof?

lsof, wow that's alot of info!
fuser? how could I use fuser to solve this?
/proc how could I use the contents of proc here.

> >>>editing when they do it.  A big difference to me between Linux and MS is that
> >>>windows is a mystery, Linux is an open book.  I'd like the new people trying to
> >>>use Linux see the book through gui.  Lets say I'm in Linuxconf and I just
> >>>changed something in sendmail.  I would really like it if it told me what file
> >>>it changed what the original file was renamed to and give me the option to see a
> >>>result of a diff command between the two.  They also could have more
> >>>explanations.  Assume you don't understand something, url to an explanation on
> >>>the web somewhere.  I know what your thinking, Join the linuxconf team then.  OK
> >>>I'm a hypocrite.
> >> But Linuxconf does exactly this:  Just pick View Changes.
> >>> Everything is clear if known.
> >Once again I will say everything is clear if known.
> >So I'll try it again.  What I wanted to do was administer a machine via a slow
> >dialup connection.  I wanted to change the ip addresses that sendmail would
> >accept mail from on the remote machine.  It is "easy" (interpret known) to do
> >this using linuxconf.  Linuxconf was not installed on the remote machine or I
> >couldn't run an X client through the slow connection.  (of course now I know
> >that you can run linuxconf --text) I could however run linuxconf on a local
> >machine and try to see what config files it was changing.
> >tripwire filesystem check.  But I'll try it your way now just to see.  Looking
> >for "View Changes" in linuxconf was to no avail.  Maybe I am running a different
> >version, but I could find no option.  I tried both the text and the X linuxconf
> >program looking for "view changes" and failed.
> 
> What version are you running?