[systemd-devel] is a unix shell (zsh, bash, sh) still required by systemd?

[ivo welch]

[1] this is an esoteric question from a new user: does systemd still
need a unix shell, like sh, bash, zsh, etc.?  I know the first-stage
usually does (i.e., the initrd), but if the second stage systemd does
not, then I could remove all shells from my linux [e.g., by removing
the USB drive that hosts stage1] and just run my custom server (e.g.,
think ftp) on my dedicated machine.  this would obviously make it just
a little harder to break into the system---if a remote
zero-day-exploit hacker cannot get a unix shell prompt, presumably it
becomes just a little more difficult to wreak havoc.  (background: I
actually run my main linux system from a custom CD-ROM already, and
the data device is noexec.)

[2] on http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/systemd/, this list is
noted as appropriate not only for for "general development" but for
"technical discussion," too.  alas, because this is not about
developing systemd, but developing *with* systemd, is this the right
forum/list?  I don't want to impose too much.

sincerely,

/ivo welch
----
Ivo Welch (ivo.welch at gmail.com)
http://www.ivo-welch.info/
J. Fred Weston Professor of Finance
Anderson School at UCLA, C519
Director, UCLA Anderson Fink Center for Finance and Investments
Free Finance Textbook, http://book.ivo-welch.info/
Editor, Critical Finance Review, http://www.critical-finance-review.org/