Re: Question about permissions used on onconfig and sqlhosts files
In the good old days when Informix was a lot simpler than it is now you had Informix application software and Informix engine software in the same directory as both needed to set INFORMIXDIR. It was also recommended that you created a user informix, log in as root, change directory to the informix account home directory, and cpio or tar off the files. The Informix account was only used to store the informix software. So, the problem isn't people storing informix software in the informix account but people who use the informix account for storing non-informix supplied software. I thought all along that there should have been separate directories for each product and version but that's the way it was/is. regards Malcolm ----- Original Message ----- From: "Colin Bull" <c.bull@videonetworks.com> To: <informix-list@iiug.org> Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 8:31 AM Subject: RE: Question about permissions used on onconfig and sqlhosts files > > Andrew Hamm > > > > I've long whinged bitterly at people who install Informix > into the same > > directory that is the informix account's home. Unfortunately > nothing > hase > > been done traditionally to prevent this. My complaint about > people who > do > > that is, they do work using the informix account and leave > all sorts of > crap > > lying around. Is there any way to enforce that $INFORMIXDIR > != ~informix > ??? > > or make $INFORMIXDIR completely unwritable? > > Having just gone through the routine of installing 9.4 without overwriting > 7.31, > I just wish this advice had been followed earlier. We live and learn. There > is > only so much you can do with symbolic links. > > Colin Bull > c.bull@videonetworks.com > > > > > > > sending to informix-list sending to informix-list
malcolm.iiug wrote: > In the good old days when Informix was a lot simpler than it is now > you had Informix application software and Informix engine software in > the same directory as both needed to set INFORMIXDIR. It was also > recommended that you created a user informix, log in as root, change > directory to the informix account home directory, and cpio or tar off > the files. > > The Informix account was only used to store the informix software. > So, the problem isn't people storing informix software in the > informix account but people who use the informix account for storing > non-informix supplied software. > I thought all along that there should have been separate directories > for each product and version but that's the way it was/is. Yeah - that's a good point too. We wanted to have multiple 4GL's available and compiling separately in development, so I had to spend a few creative days doing some voilence to installations so that I could get more than one 4GL version installed into each $INFORMIXDIR. With 4JS, the separation of 4GL from engine makes life a lot easier, and there's no Sword of Damacles hanging over our heads; just waiting for people like Jonathan to mess with permissions and break everything :-) A new set of optional shellvars which describe the location of the tools might be a very useful addition indeed. They can default to $INFORMIXDIR and friends as appropriate, but would allow us to push 4GL and other tools into different places.
On Tue, 28 Oct 2003 17:55:55 -0500, Andrew Hamm wrote: <SNIP> > Yeah - that's a good point too. We wanted to have multiple 4GL's available and > compiling separately in development, so I had to spend a few creative days > doing some voilence to installations so that I could get more than one 4GL > version installed into each $INFORMIXDIR. Just make the correct 4GL directory INFORMIXDIR and place a link there like: link -s $REALINFORMIXDIR/etc $4GLINFORMIXDIR/etc And copy $REALINFORMIXDIR/msg to $4GLINFORMIXDIR/msg before installing the 4GL. So running apps can see the sqlhosts file and msg files for the engine. Art S. Kagel > With 4JS, the separation of 4GL from engine makes life a lot easier, and > there's no Sword of Damacles hanging over our heads; just waiting for people > like Jonathan to mess with permissions and break everything :-) > > A new set of optional shellvars which describe the location of the tools might > be a very useful addition indeed. They can default to $INFORMIXDIR and friends > as appropriate, but would allow us to push 4GL and other tools into different > places.