[systemd-devel] [PATCH] udev hwdb: Store binary database in libdir, not in /etc

[Kay Sievers]

On Mon, Jun 17, 2013 at 6:41 AM, Martin Pitt <martin.pitt at ubuntu.com> wrote:
> Lennart Poettering [2013-06-17  2:52 +0200]:
>> The file is supposed to be be built on the installed system so that
>> other packages or the admin can drop in additional hwdb files. And yes,
>> it is not a package manager controlled file, which is precisely why I am
>> saying it belongs to /etc, not /usr.
>
> (See my other response to Tom about details)
>
>> No, by placing it in /usr (or /lib, for old distributions which haven't
>> done the /usr merge yet) you break the rule that the files the systemd
>> package installs in /usr should be the same on all installations of the
>> same package version.
>
> It doesn't at the moment, as the file is in the package it is the same
> on all installations (of the same architecture).

The hwdb files are overwritable/extendable the same way as udev rules
are, Admins can update add individual keys/values with files in /etc,
which will result in different binary databases.

Udev is not the only package that will install the source files, the
hwdb files will be used like udev rules, sane scanner rules, gphoto
rules, upower stuff, ... should all use hwdb files instead of udev
rules in the future.

Therefore, the binary database must be generated on the target host
system and never be shipped by the udev package.

Kay