Arch Linux

android

Member

From: San Diego

Registered: 2003-04-18

Posts: 160

initscripts default rc.conf DAEMONS line and HAL

Hello,

Some application error messages recently caused me to realize that after setting up a new machine I was not starting the HAL daemon.

Shouldn't this daemon be in the default DAEMONS=() line of rc.conf, as installed by the initscripts package?

I started to flag the package "out of date" but I wasn't sure if this was the appropriate action for this issue/question.

android

byte

Member

From: Düsseldorf (DE)

Registered: 2006-05-01

Posts: 2,046

Re: initscripts default rc.conf DAEMONS line and HAL

You flag something as out-of-date when it's out-of-date, simple as that. HAL has been at 0.5.11 since May and the same goes for the Arch package, so you don't flag it.
"Issues" go to the bugtracker.

It's not in the default DAEMONS line because it's not an essential 'base' package and only very few other packages depend on it.

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1000

android

Member

From: San Diego

Registered: 2003-04-18

Posts: 160

Re: initscripts default rc.conf DAEMONS line and HAL

I was refering to flaging the initscripts package, not the hal package.

It's my impression that udev hot plugging as well as kde and gnome infrastructure (therefore all of the applications, not just if that's your desktop) all rely on hal at runtime.

I still haven't quite run it to ground, but I also believe that the arch boot proccess uses hal as part of hardware discovery.

So I think quite a bit of stuff depends on it and that it's a default in arch installations.

Given this, it seemed it would be reasonable if it were included in the DAEMONS line by default, or at least if configuration dependent on it is selected at system installation time.

In short, it seems like initscripts is "out of date" by not supporting hal out of the box.

This issue is related to knowing which of the, ever growing list of, groups to which a user should be added in order to have access to the systems hardware. But that's another post.

This is just my impression as a user. I'm eager to learn more, especially about the arch setup and boot process.

Thanks for your reply...

johnea

ghostHack

Member

From: Bristol UK

Registered: 2008-02-29

Posts: 261

Re: initscripts default rc.conf DAEMONS line and HAL

Hal is not in [core] its in [extra] so its definately not in the default install (which only includes packages from [core])

You are correct that it is needed by gnome/kde/xfce and so is usually pulled in as a dependeny of those groups.  However, if you don't run one of those DEs there is no requirement for Hal (e.g. a headless file server).

Also, I think you have got Hal and udev mixed up, Hal depends on udev, not the other way around.  Udev is in [core] and IS used during the boot process, hardware detection goes kernel -> udev -> dbus/hal.

If you haven't already seen it the first part of the Hal wiki page may be useful to you. (http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/HAL)

Last edited by ghostHack (2008-09-13 11:58:22)