Package install/uninstallupgrade history tracking

kyron

Feature anyone....?!

As a part time system administrator for the past 7 years, there is ONE feature that I know would be really nice on Gentoo systems. And I am certain this could be very easily done.

Portage should store in [insert data retention system of choice here, ie: db, mysql, flat file] the complete package history of a system from it's life to death.

This db would containe date stamped entries (duh!) of packages with their install, upgrade, uninstall history as well as their use and compile flags. I beleive this would be an incredibly useful tool for system admins AND users so that one could be able to track down where and when a system went Ying instead of Yang. This database would be able to bring back a system to any state prior to any call to the emerge system (neat huh!).

Portage already detects which config files require some changing, so these could be stored in a config.tbz file (which would most probably be VERY small) and have a reference to it in the aformentionned database.

I don't think any of this would take a tremendous amount of space but I do see it as a precious resource for system administrator that would like to have a free conscious when managing their Gentoo server and stations, giving them the ultimate tool to go back a few steps.

It's late, I'll let the idea ponder here a little, would really like to know what people think of this, I really beleive in Linux and the way Gentoo unleashes it's true powers (customized OS for specific hardware, not the other way around!)

[edit] I opened bug report #20155 for this feature request

[/edit]
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pacmac · n00b Joined: 25 Apr 2003 Posts: 68

hey, nice job. It's a very useful aplication

kyron · Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2003 6:07 pm Post subject:

snark · n00b Joined: 21 Apr 2003 Posts: 1

I unmerge'd mysql today, and when I went to install the startup script for my hand-rolled mysql, I noticed the old gentoo mysql startup script as /etc/init.d/mysql. I expected that file to have been deleted during the unmerge -- this is reasonable, no?

This feature/tool would be able to notice if any files from an installation still exist after the installation -- like my /etc/init.d/mysql, yes?

kyron