bug#3800: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior

bug#3800: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior

[Nelson H. F. Beebe]

I'm doing "make install" for several builds of emacs-23.0.96, and I
just noticed this output (with the GNU default of prefix=/usr/local):

chmod -R a+r \
	/usr/local/share/emacs/23.0.96 \
	/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp \
	/usr/local/share/emacs/23.0.96/etc \
	/usr/local/share/emacs/23.0.96/lisp \
	/usr/local/share/info

While it is appropriate to run chmod at installation time for a
package's own files, it is HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE to run chmod on
directories and files belonging to other packages.  The directories

	/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp
	/usr/local/share/info

need to be removed from the install command chmod processing.

Their contents, and file permissions, are not the business of
emacs-x.y.z release installations.  A given site, including ours, may
have local reasons for nondefault permissions in those directories.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Nelson H. F. Beebe                    Tel: +1 801 581 5254                  -
- University of Utah                    FAX: +1 801 581 4148                  -
- Department of Mathematics, 110 LCB    Internet e-mail: beebe@math.utah.edu  -
- 155 S 1400 E RM 233                       beebe@acm.org  beebe@computer.org -
- Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0090, USA    URL: http://www.math.utah.edu/~beebe/ -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

bug#3800: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior

[Chong Yidong]

> chmod -R a+r \
> 	/usr/local/share/emacs/23.0.96 \
> 	/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp \
> 	/usr/local/share/emacs/23.0.96/etc \
> 	/usr/local/share/emacs/23.0.96/lisp \
> 	/usr/local/share/info
>
> While it is appropriate to run chmod at installation time for a
> package's own files, it is HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE to run chmod on
> directories and files belonging to other packages.  The directories
>
> 	/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp
> 	/usr/local/share/info
>
> need to be removed from the install command chmod processing.

Fair enough.  But the installation process needs to read the contents of
/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp and /usr/local/share/info in order to
function properly.

How about doing `u+r' instead of `a+r' for those directories?

bug#3800: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior

[Glenn Morris]

Chong Yidong wrote:

>> chmod -R a+r \
[...]
> Fair enough.  But the installation process needs to read the contents of
> /usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp and /usr/local/share/info in order to
> function properly.
>
> How about doing `u+r' instead of `a+r' for those directories?

("u" is probably root when installing)

I imagine it is the "-R" that is the problem. I guess the install
should make sure the directories themselves, and those files we
install in them, are readable, but leave other things under these
directories alone.

bug#3800: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior

[Chong Yidong]

Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> writes:

> I imagine it is the "-R" that is the problem. I guess the install
> should make sure the directories themselves, and those files we
> install in them, are readable, but leave other things under these
> directories alone.

No, the reporter specifically complained about making these readable:

	/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp
	/usr/local/share/info

bug#3800: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior

[Glenn Morris]

Chong Yidong wrote:

> No, the reporter specifically complained about making these readable:
>
> 	/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp
> 	/usr/local/share/info

That I can't understand.

Super-top-secret info files can be installed in a non-standard
location, and added to the INFOPATH of those who need them.
Ditto with site-lisp-files-that-aren't-really-site-lisp-files.

Or emacs can be installed somewhere else than /usr/local.

bug#3800: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior

[Glenn Morris]

Glenn Morris wrote:

> Chong Yidong wrote:
>
>> No, the reporter specifically complained about making these readable:
>>
>> 	/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp
>> 	/usr/local/share/info
>
> That I can't understand.

But if that is the issue, how about only setting the permissions if we
create those directories?

bug#3800: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior

[Nelson H. F. Beebe]

>> I imagine it is the "-R" that is the problem. I guess the install
>> should make sure the directories themselves, and those files we
>> install in them, are readable ...

The permissions of directories not owned by the package must not
be touched.  If a specific permission mode is needed, and an
existing file or directory lacks that permission, then "make install"
should warn about the problem.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Nelson H. F. Beebe                    Tel: +1 801 581 5254                  -
- University of Utah                    FAX: +1 801 581 4148                  -
- Department of Mathematics, 110 LCB    Internet e-mail: beebe@math.utah.edu  -
- 155 S 1400 E RM 233                       beebe@acm.org  beebe@computer.org -
- Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0090, USA    URL: http://www.math.utah.edu/~beebe/ -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

bug#3800: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior

[Nelson H. F. Beebe]

>> how about only setting the permissions if we create those directories?

That is fine, because there is no change to the permissions of
existing files and subdirectories.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Nelson H. F. Beebe                    Tel: +1 801 581 5254                  -
- University of Utah                    FAX: +1 801 581 4148                  -
- Department of Mathematics, 110 LCB    Internet e-mail: beebe@math.utah.edu  -
- 155 S 1400 E RM 233                       beebe@acm.org  beebe@computer.org -
- Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0090, USA    URL: http://www.math.utah.edu/~beebe/ -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

bug#3800: marked as done ([emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior)

[Emacs bug Tracking System]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 904 bytes --]

Your message dated Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:34:37 -0400
with message-id <yq8wgo3kxu.fsf@fencepost.gnu.org>
and subject line Re: bug#3800: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior
has caused the Emacs bug report #3800,
regarding [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior
to be marked as done.

This means that you claim that the problem has been dealt with.
If this is not the case it is now your responsibility to reopen the
bug report if necessary, and/or fix the problem forthwith.

(NB: If you are a system administrator and have no idea what this
message is talking about, this may indicate a serious mail system
misconfiguration somewhere. Please contact owner@emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com
immediately.)


-- 
3800: http://emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=3800
Emacs Bug Tracking System
Contact owner@emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com with problems

[-- Attachment #2: Type: message/rfc822, Size: 3958 bytes --]

From: "Nelson H. F. Beebe" <beebe@math.utah.edu>
To: emacs-pretest-bug@gnu.org
Cc: beebe@math.utah.edu
Subject: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 2009 14:12:58 -0600 (MDT)
Message-ID: <CMM.0.94.0.1247170378.beebe@psi.math.utah.edu>

I'm doing "make install" for several builds of emacs-23.0.96, and I
just noticed this output (with the GNU default of prefix=/usr/local):

chmod -R a+r \
	/usr/local/share/emacs/23.0.96 \
	/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp \
	/usr/local/share/emacs/23.0.96/etc \
	/usr/local/share/emacs/23.0.96/lisp \
	/usr/local/share/info

While it is appropriate to run chmod at installation time for a
package's own files, it is HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE to run chmod on
directories and files belonging to other packages.  The directories

	/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp
	/usr/local/share/info

need to be removed from the install command chmod processing.

Their contents, and file permissions, are not the business of
emacs-x.y.z release installations.  A given site, including ours, may
have local reasons for nondefault permissions in those directories.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Nelson H. F. Beebe                    Tel: +1 801 581 5254                  -
- University of Utah                    FAX: +1 801 581 4148                  -
- Department of Mathematics, 110 LCB    Internet e-mail: beebe@math.utah.edu  -
- 155 S 1400 E RM 233                       beebe@acm.org  beebe@computer.org -
- Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0090, USA    URL: http://www.math.utah.edu/~beebe/ -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[-- Attachment #3: Type: message/rfc822, Size: 1685 bytes --]

From: Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org>
To: 3800-done@emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com
Subject: Re: bug#3800: [emacs-devel] emacs-23.0.96 make install misbehavior
Date: Tue, 08 Sep 2009 22:34:37 -0400
Message-ID: <yq8wgo3kxu.fsf@fencepost.gnu.org>


I believe this is fixed now.

  * Makefile.in (install-arch-indep): Don't recursively change perms of
  site-lisp and infodir. There may be non-Emacs files in here, and the
  files supplied by Emacs are all handled explicitly already.  (Bug#3800)