Re: [Jack-Devel] jack - audio group - package install

On 01/24/2012 03:45 PM, Kaj Ailomaa wrote:
> Why I brought up this subject is to try find a good solution to a
> practical problem. Namely, how to get realtime privilege simply by
> installing jackd.
>
> Solutions:
>
> 1. There is a group dedicated to that from the start (on
> Debian/Ubuntu/Mint), which is a default group for all desktop users.
>
> 2. The installation of jack administers group membership for users.

that is something a windows wizard would do, and it's broken because it 
has implications that the user is unaware of. there are a few simple 
golden rules that distinguish a sane and intelligent operating system 
from a toy:

* never second-guess the user. there are way too many "user-friendly" 
automatisms on linux systems already.

* installing a package should *never* *ever* re-configure existing users 
by default. it can check for the existence of a group and add it if it's 
not there, but a package that screws with my user database is just 
broken. the assumption might work for you, but it's just wrong in 
principle, which is easy to see for anyone who has ever administrated a 
moderately complex multi-user system.

* a user who wants to achieve something as advanced as real-time audio 
has no right to remain ignorant about basic system privileges. on the 
contrary, intelligent users appreciate being educated about important 
aspects of their system.

the correct solution to this problem is to add a post-install script 
that pops up a little information screen for the user telling her that 
there's this group called "audio" or "realtime" or whatever, that 
everybody who wants to use jack must be in, and would she like to start 
the distro's user and group administration tool now? then afterwards 
tell the user to log out and back in, and everybody is happy. no extra 
$FOOkit, no quirky realtime demon, all is well.


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Jörn Nettingsmeier
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