[systemd-devel] Using timedatectl on a readonly rootfile system using mender

[Lennart Poettering]

On Fr, 04.09.20 18:16, Shravan Singh (shravan at bluesparq.com) wrote:

> What constitutes a configuration?
> And please read my email subject. I can't have writable /etc, mender
> dosen't allow that.

Well, then that's sad, and something to bring up with mender? if they
do not allow local config, then obviously your goals and their
offerings apparently do not match given you want to cnfigure timezones
locally, as I understand.

> In today's mobile computing age you really think users shouldn't change
> timezone?

I don't think that. Do you?

I am just saying: config is config, if you want writable config then
make /etc writable. /etc is for local config. timezones are config,
hence if you want changable timezones then make /etc writable. pretty
logic, pretty easy.

> You keep saying " I for one am certainly not convinced that the timezones"
> but you don't explain why?

transient state is when something only has validity during the
current boot in the current context, is automatically acquire and
automatically released and automatically managed.

Config otoh is generally persistent, ultimately configured by some
human or so and has is more of static nature.

Timezone settings are usually man made, and assumed to be
persistent. They aren't part of network params acquired via DHCP
(well, DHCP actually has a field for that, but it's typically not
used, at least I didn't find a single network in the wild that uses
that) or a similar dynamic protocol.

> Are you looking at this system as a static machine? That can never change
> timezone?

It's you who insists that /etc (and thus configuration) should be
read-only, not me. It's you who's then upset that you cannot change
configuration if /etc (and thus configuration) is read-only.

I think this discussion kinda lost its usefulness, I am just repeating
myself, and will thus refrain from further input on this thread. If my
explanations aren't enough, aren't acceptable I think we both have to
live with that.

Lennart

--
Lennart Poettering, Berlin