diff mbox series

[bug#71118,1/5] services: nscd: ‘log-file’ defaults to #f.

Message ID 91683e6a6059df7816833d4e4d1e3bfc43aa74e7.1716386553.git.ludo@gnu.org
State New
Headers
Series More service logging to stderr |

Commit Message

Ludovic Courtès May 22, 2024, 2:53 p.m. UTC 
* gnu/services/base.scm (<nscd-configuration>)[log-file]: Default to #f.
* doc/guix.texi (Base Services): Clarify documentation.

Change-Id: Ia75914fc2665db13bef688d53659083a615ebef4
---
 doc/guix.texi         | 8 +++++---
 gnu/services/base.scm | 2 +-
 2 files changed, 6 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)

Comments

Maxim Cournoyer May 22, 2024, 5:22 p.m. UTC | #1 
Hi Ludovic,

Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> writes:

> * gnu/services/base.scm (<nscd-configuration>)[log-file]: Default to #f.
> * doc/guix.texi (Base Services): Clarify documentation.
>
> Change-Id: Ia75914fc2665db13bef688d53659083a615ebef4
> ---
>  doc/guix.texi         | 8 +++++---
>  gnu/services/base.scm | 2 +-
>  2 files changed, 6 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
> index 8073e3f6d49..0055724e658 100644
> --- a/doc/guix.texi
> +++ b/doc/guix.texi
> @@ -19446,9 +19446,11 @@ Base Services
>  Package object denoting the GNU C Library providing the @command{nscd}
>  command.
>  
> -@item @code{log-file} (default: @code{"/var/log/nscd.log"})
> -Name of the nscd log file.  This is where debugging output goes when
> -@code{debug-level} is strictly positive.
> +@item @code{log-file} (default: @code{#f})
> +Name of the nscd log file.  Debugging output goes to that file when
> +@code{debug-level} is strictly positive, or to standard error if it is
> +@code{#f}.  Regular messages are written to syslog when
> +@code{debug-level} is zero, regardless of the value of @code{log-file}.

Is it not a bit counter-intuitive, to have a 'log-file' field that users
can set, but debug logs not going there?  Perhaps we should get rid of
it entirely instead?
Maxim Cournoyer May 22, 2024, 5:25 p.m. UTC | #2 
Hi Ludo,

Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> writes:

> * gnu/services/base.scm (<nscd-configuration>)[log-file]: Default to #f.
> * doc/guix.texi (Base Services): Clarify documentation.
>
> Change-Id: Ia75914fc2665db13bef688d53659083a615ebef4
> ---
>  doc/guix.texi         | 8 +++++---
>  gnu/services/base.scm | 2 +-
>  2 files changed, 6 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
> index 8073e3f6d49..0055724e658 100644
> --- a/doc/guix.texi
> +++ b/doc/guix.texi
> @@ -19446,9 +19446,11 @@ Base Services
>  Package object denoting the GNU C Library providing the @command{nscd}
>  command.
>  
> -@item @code{log-file} (default: @code{"/var/log/nscd.log"})
> -Name of the nscd log file.  This is where debugging output goes when
> -@code{debug-level} is strictly positive.
> +@item @code{log-file} (default: @code{#f})
> +Name of the nscd log file.  Debugging output goes to that file when
> +@code{debug-level} is strictly positive, or to standard error if it is
> +@code{#f}.  Regular messages are written to syslog when
> +@code{debug-level} is zero, regardless of the value of @code{log-file}.

My initial reading of the above was wrong.  I guess it's fine, though I
find the special case logging to /dev/error when debug-level == 0
despite log-file being set a bit surprising still.
Ludovic Courtès May 23, 2024, 9:26 a.m. UTC | #3 
Hi,

Maxim Cournoyer <maxim.cournoyer@gmail.com> skribis:

> Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> writes:
>
>> * gnu/services/base.scm (<nscd-configuration>)[log-file]: Default to #f.
>> * doc/guix.texi (Base Services): Clarify documentation.
>>
>> Change-Id: Ia75914fc2665db13bef688d53659083a615ebef4

[...]

>> +@item @code{log-file} (default: @code{#f})
>> +Name of the nscd log file.  Debugging output goes to that file when
>> +@code{debug-level} is strictly positive, or to standard error if it is
>> +@code{#f}.  Regular messages are written to syslog when
>> +@code{debug-level} is zero, regardless of the value of @code{log-file}.
>
> Is it not a bit counter-intuitive, to have a 'log-file' field that users
> can set, but debug logs not going there?

Yeah, I had to check the code of nscd in libc, and it’s this weird.

> Perhaps we should get rid of it entirely instead?

I’d rather keep it to avoid gratuitous breakage and also because it’s
occasionally useful when one needs to debug NSS/nscd issues.

Ludo’.
Maxim Cournoyer May 24, 2024, 12:45 p.m. UTC | #4 
Hi,

Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> writes:

> Hi,
>
> Maxim Cournoyer <maxim.cournoyer@gmail.com> skribis:
>
>> Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org> writes:
>>
>>> * gnu/services/base.scm (<nscd-configuration>)[log-file]: Default to #f.
>>> * doc/guix.texi (Base Services): Clarify documentation.
>>>
>>> Change-Id: Ia75914fc2665db13bef688d53659083a615ebef4
>
> [...]
>
>>> +@item @code{log-file} (default: @code{#f})
>>> +Name of the nscd log file.  Debugging output goes to that file when
>>> +@code{debug-level} is strictly positive, or to standard error if it is
>>> +@code{#f}.  Regular messages are written to syslog when
>>> +@code{debug-level} is zero, regardless of the value of @code{log-file}.
>>
>> Is it not a bit counter-intuitive, to have a 'log-file' field that users
>> can set, but debug logs not going there?
>
> Yeah, I had to check the code of nscd in libc, and it’s this weird.

Haha!

>> Perhaps we should get rid of it entirely instead?
>
> I’d rather keep it to avoid gratuitous breakage and also because it’s
> occasionally useful when one needs to debug NSS/nscd issues.

OK.  Sounds reasonable.  I didn't know the weirdness was carried from
the underlying software rather than our own.
diff mbox series

Patch

diff --git a/doc/guix.texi b/doc/guix.texi
index 8073e3f6d49..0055724e658 100644
--- a/doc/guix.texi
+++ b/doc/guix.texi
@@ -19446,9 +19446,11 @@  Base Services
 Package object denoting the GNU C Library providing the @command{nscd}
 command.
 
-@item @code{log-file} (default: @code{"/var/log/nscd.log"})
-Name of the nscd log file.  This is where debugging output goes when
-@code{debug-level} is strictly positive.
+@item @code{log-file} (default: @code{#f})
+Name of the nscd log file.  Debugging output goes to that file when
+@code{debug-level} is strictly positive, or to standard error if it is
+@code{#f}.  Regular messages are written to syslog when
+@code{debug-level} is zero, regardless of the value of @code{log-file}.
 
 @item @code{debug-level} (default: @code{0})
 Integer denoting the debugging levels.  Higher numbers mean that more
diff --git a/gnu/services/base.scm b/gnu/services/base.scm
index 85160bd3abb..984670cd32c 100644
--- a/gnu/services/base.scm
+++ b/gnu/services/base.scm
@@ -1285,7 +1285,7 @@  (define-record-type* <nscd-configuration> nscd-configuration
   make-nscd-configuration
   nscd-configuration?
   (log-file    nscd-configuration-log-file        ;string
-               (default "/var/log/nscd.log"))
+               (default #f))
   (debug-level nscd-debug-level                   ;integer
                (default 0))
   ;; TODO: See nscd.conf in glibc for other options to add.