Config files without corresponding program

Config files without corresponding program

[mikadoZero]

When I first installed Guix SD I followed the instructions in the
manual.  I modeled my system off of the example system configuration
template 'for a "bare bones" setup, with no X11 display server' from
"8.1 Using the Configuration System" of the manual.

In the home directories for both root and another user there where
configuration files that did not have a corresponding program installed.
The configuration files in question were:

.guile-wm - guile-wm
.gdbinit - gdb
.Xdefaults - xorg
.zprofile - zsh

Is there a reason why does installing Guix SD leave these configuration
files in the home directories?

Re: Config files without corresponding program

[Tobias Geerinckx-Rice]

Hullo once more,

mikadoZero wrote:
> When I first installed Guix SD I followed the instructions in 
> the
> manual.  I modeled my system off of the example system 
> configuration
> template 'for a "bare bones" setup, with no X11 display server' 
> from
> "8.1 Using the Configuration System" of the manual.
>
> In the home directories for both root and another user there 
> where
> configuration files that did not have a corresponding program 
> installed.
> The configuration files in question were:
>
> guile-wm - guile-wm
> gdbinit - gdb
> Xdefaults - xorg
> zprofile - zsh
>
> Is there a reason why does installing Guix SD leave these 
> configuration
> files in the home directories?

These files are created by DEFAULT-SKELETONS in (gnu system 
shadow) to make those programmes play well with Guix, because 
there's no way to tell when or if the user will use them.  So 
everything is fine.

Kind regards,

T G-R

Re: Config files without corresponding program

[mikadoZero]

Tobias Geerinckx-Rice writes:

> mikadoZero wrote:
>> When I first installed Guix SD I followed the instructions in the
>> manual.  I modeled my system off of the example system configuration
>> template 'for a "bare bones" setup, with no X11 display server' from
>> "8.1 Using the Configuration System" of the manual.
>>
>> In the home directories for both root and another user there where
>> configuration files that did not have a corresponding program
>> installed.
>> The configuration files in question were:
>>
>> guile-wm - guile-wm
>> gdbinit - gdb
>> Xdefaults - xorg
>> zprofile - zsh
>>
>> Is there a reason why does installing Guix SD leave these
>> configuration
>> files in the home directories?
>
> These files are created by DEFAULT-SKELETONS in (gnu system shadow) to
> make those programmes play well with Guix, because there's no way to
> tell when or if the user will use them.  So everything is fine.

What about the scenario where someone deletes these seemingly unneeded
configuration files because they are not using the program?  I have
done this and others might as well.  Normally there are no issues with
removing unused configuration files.  Would a user then run into
problems if they later install one of these programs having previously
deleted it's special Guix configuration file? 

If so then would having the installation of these configuration files
done by the package definitions of their respective programs instead of
DEFAULT-SKELETONS solve this potential user error? 

Installation of one of these program could serve as an indicator that
the user needs it's configuration files that make the program work with
Guix.

Re: Config files without corresponding program

[Ludovic Courtès]

Hi mikadoZero,

mikadoZero <mikadozero@yandex.com> skribis:

> Tobias Geerinckx-Rice writes:
>
>> mikadoZero wrote:
>>> When I first installed Guix SD I followed the instructions in the
>>> manual.  I modeled my system off of the example system configuration
>>> template 'for a "bare bones" setup, with no X11 display server' from
>>> "8.1 Using the Configuration System" of the manual.
>>>
>>> In the home directories for both root and another user there where
>>> configuration files that did not have a corresponding program
>>> installed.
>>> The configuration files in question were:
>>>
>>> guile-wm - guile-wm
>>> gdbinit - gdb
>>> Xdefaults - xorg
>>> zprofile - zsh
>>>
>>> Is there a reason why does installing Guix SD leave these
>>> configuration
>>> files in the home directories?
>>
>> These files are created by DEFAULT-SKELETONS in (gnu system shadow) to
>> make those programmes play well with Guix, because there's no way to
>> tell when or if the user will use them.  So everything is fine.
>
> What about the scenario where someone deletes these seemingly unneeded
> configuration files because they are not using the program?

That’s fine, you can delete them or modify them at will.  There are
meant mostly to help people get started.  For instance, figuring out the
right line in ~/.gdbinit to have GDB find debugging symbols would take
some reading, while here you’ll just have it work out of the box.

HTH,
Ludo’.