> The 1.55 release:
> ftp://ftp.uk.linux.org/pub/linux/sct/quota/quota-1.55-10.i386.rpm
> ftp://ftp.uk.linux.org/pub/linux/sct/quota/quota-1.55-10.src.rpm
>
> WHY IS THIS ONLY IN RPM FORMAT?! Please could we have a tarball of the
> sources!! I am not downloading RPM just to get at the sources! (Yes, I
> checked in the ftp server)
First, FYI, rpm's do not require that you install rpm software. They're just
cpio archives + a header. Use perl, ed, or whatever to strip off the
header, then extract the cpio [1]. If you get the .src.rpm, the cpio should
be a tarball of the original source, plus a patch file or two of Stephen's
changes to actually make it work. Grab that, strip it, extract it, explode
the tarball and apply the patches, and you should be set.
Furthermore, don't you think you're being just a tad bit petulant? It's in
RPM because the author (Stephen Tweedie, I think) chose to do it that way.
"He who writes the code gets to make the rules." It's not like he posted it
in rot-13, uuencoded, and then binhex4 or something absurd like that--rpm is
a fairly standard Linux file format, particularly given that he's a RH
employee.
If my recollection is right, the quota package was at one point in the
development cycle basically not being maintained (either the maintainer was
swamped with other work, or MIA, or unknown, or whatever--the quota software
is just a linux port of the *BSD quota stuff, so it's not even like there's
a definite author per se). It also needed to be updated because it broke
badly with quotas over 4 gigs. Stephen probably didn't want to become the
maintainer, so he just added a patch to the rpm to provide support for
larger quotas, and then was nice enough to put the package on his ftp site
for everyone instead of just leaving it on ftp://updates.redhat.com/ for
only Red Hat users to find.
Since that time, somone else has started actively maintaining the quota
package, and they've added some additional support to it that helps with
quotas over knfs and such, so I've been meaning to update the Changes file
to mention that. However, I've been having a really hard time getting
patches accepted, so it hasn't gotten updated....
Hit ftp.cistron.nl/pub/people/mvw/ for the current package. I think it's up
to 1.70, but 1.65 is really all you need, and only then if you're doing
quotas over knfs. Otherwise, 1.55 is fine (either the unpatched if you
don't have quotas for any users over 4 gig, or patched if you do).
However, I think 1.70 fixes the problems that were discussed on bugtraq a
while ago, so it might be worth getting for that reason as well. It's the
version I use, anyway.
> Finally, I think the Changes file should have each particular part of the
> system attributed to a specific author so I can email them directly
> instead of posting to the list.
I'll keep it in mind for 2.3, if I bother to keep doing the Changes file.
later,
chris
[1] http://www.eleves.ens.fr:8080/home/espel/rpm2cpio has a perl script
already written for you
--
Chris Ricker kaboom@gatech.edu
chris.ricker@m.cc.utah.edu
Politics and the fate of mankind are formed by men
without ideals and without greatness. Those who have
greatness within them do not go in for politics.
-- Albert Camus
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