Thread: text patch -- sugg cmd when run as root
When you run postgresql as root, the command it gives for putting in your startup script is a little weird. The main issue is that 2>&1 only works in bash, not tcsh. >& works in both, so it seems preferable. Another minor issue is that it echoes the command and pipes it through su. Shouldn't this be "su - postgres -c 'cmd'"? Do all versions of su have the '-c' argument? piping it through seems weird, but maybe it isn't. this is a straight diff for src/backend/main/main.c --cut here-- 38c38 < echo \"postmaster -B 256 >/var/log/pglog 2>&1 &\" | su - postgres\n\n" --- > su - postgres -c 'postmaster -B 256 >& /var/log/pglog' &\n\n" --cut here--
> When you run postgresql as root, the command it gives for putting in
> your startup script is a little weird. The main issue is that 2>&1
> only works in bash, not tcsh. >& works in both, so it seems
> preferable. Another minor issue is that it echoes the command and
> pipes it through su. Shouldn't this be "su - postgres -c 'cmd'"? Do
> all versions of su have the '-c' argument? piping it through seems
> weird, but maybe it isn't.
>
> this is a straight diff for src/backend/main/main.c
>
> --cut here--
> 38c38
> < echo \"postmaster -B 256 >/var/log/pglog 2>&1 &\" | su - postgres\n\n"
> ---
> > su - postgres -c 'postmaster -B 256 >& /var/log/pglog' &\n\n"
> --cut here--
You have tcsh as the root shell???
Seriously, most systems have 'sh' as the root shell, with bash a distant
second possibility. And, the '2>&1' syntax works in 'sh', and 'ksh' and 'bash'.
-dg
David Gould dg@illustra.com 510.628.3783 or 510.305.9468
Informix Software (No, really) 300 Lakeside Drive Oakland, CA 94612
"(Windows NT) version 5.0 will build on a proven system architecture
and incorporate tens of thousands of bug fixes from version 4.0."
-- <http://www.microsoft.com/y2k.asp?A=7&B=5>
On Wed, 29 Apr 1998, David Gould wrote:
> > When you run postgresql as root, the command it gives for putting in
> > your startup script is a little weird. The main issue is that 2>&1
> > only works in bash, not tcsh. >& works in both, so it seems
> > preferable. Another minor issue is that it echoes the command and
> > pipes it through su. Shouldn't this be "su - postgres -c 'cmd'"? Do
> > all versions of su have the '-c' argument? piping it through seems
> > weird, but maybe it isn't.
> >
> > this is a straight diff for src/backend/main/main.c
> >
> > --cut here--
> > 38c38
> > < echo \"postmaster -B 256 >/var/log/pglog 2>&1 &\" | su - postgres\n\n"
> > ---
> > > su - postgres -c 'postmaster -B 256 >& /var/log/pglog' &\n\n"
> > --cut here--
>
> You have tcsh as the root shell???
As do I...so? I just make sure I put a copy in /bin and you're
fine...or, at least, I haven't been burnt yet. I can't stand the other
shells :(
On Thu, 30 Apr 1998, The Hermit Hacker wrote: >On Wed, 29 Apr 1998, David Gould wrote: > >> > When you run postgresql as root, the command it gives for putting in >> > your startup script is a little weird. The main issue is that 2>&1 >> > only works in bash, not tcsh. >& works in both, so it seems >> > preferable. Another minor issue is that it echoes the command and >> > pipes it through su. Shouldn't this be "su - postgres -c 'cmd'"? Do >> > all versions of su have the '-c' argument? piping it through seems >> > weird, but maybe it isn't. >> > >> > this is a straight diff for src/backend/main/main.c >> > >> > --cut here-- >> > 38c38 >> > < echo \"postmaster -B 256 >/var/log/pglog 2>&1 &\" | su - postgres\n\n" >> > --- >> > > su - postgres -c 'postmaster -B 256 >& /var/log/pglog' &\n\n" >> > --cut here-- >> >> You have tcsh as the root shell??? > > As do I...so? I just make sure I put a copy in /bin and you're >fine...or, at least, I haven't been burnt yet. I can't stand the other >shells :( IMHO, the startup script should be written for plain sh (best) or plain csh, because those are the shells that are guaranteed to exist on any Un*x system. And, it doesn't matter which shell you are using (bash, tcsh, ksh, zsh or whatever), simply put "#!/bin/sh" or "#!/bin/csh" as the first line on the script, and you're done. As a side note: Marc, if you use tcsh as root's shell, you also must check that tcsh is statically linked. Anyway, I keep /bin/sh as root's shell, and the first command I execute when I log on as root is "bash ; exit". I could even modify root's .profile to execute it automatically, but I'm too lazy :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Pedro José Lobo Perea Tel: +34 91 336 78 19 Centro de Cálculo Fax: +34 91 331 92 29 EUIT Telecomunicación - UPM e-mail: pjlobo@euitt.upm.es
Pedro: > IMHO, the startup script should be written for plain sh (best) or plain > csh, because those are the shells that are guaranteed to exist on any Un*x > system. And, it doesn't matter which shell you are using (bash, tcsh, ksh, > zsh or whatever), simply put "#!/bin/sh" or "#!/bin/csh" as the first line > on the script, and you're done. I don't have csh on some of my systems. I think the only safe choice is plain sh. -dg
> > When you run postgresql as root, the command it gives for putting in > your startup script is a little weird. The main issue is that 2>&1 > only works in bash, not tcsh. >& works in both, so it seems > preferable. Another minor issue is that it echoes the command and > pipes it through su. Shouldn't this be "su - postgres -c 'cmd'"? Do > all versions of su have the '-c' argument? piping it through seems > weird, but maybe it isn't. > > this is a straight diff for src/backend/main/main.c > > --cut here-- > 38c38 > < echo \"postmaster -B 256 >/var/log/pglog 2>&1 &\" | su - postgres\n\n" > --- > > su - postgres -c 'postmaster -B 256 >& /var/log/pglog' &\n\n" > --cut here-- > > I have changed the text to: \n\"root\" execution of the PostgreSQL backend is not permitted.\n\n\ The backend must be started under it's own userid to prevent\n\ a possible system security compromise. See the INSTALL file for\n\ more information on how to properly start the postmaster.\n\n" -- Bruce Momjian | 830 Blythe Avenue maillist@candle.pha.pa.us | Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 19026 + If your life is a hard drive, | (610) 353-9879(w) + Christ can be your backup. | (610) 853-3000(h)
beautiful -- it turns out that it was my mistake (I am very used to bash) and vanilla sh does not handle tcsh-style redirection, as in: command >& file On Tue, 12 May 1998, at 16:17:28, Bruce Momjian wrote: > I have changed the text to: > > \n\"root\" execution of the PostgreSQL backend is not permitted.\n\n\ > The backend must be started under it's own userid to prevent\n\ > a possible system security compromise. See the INSTALL file for\n\ > more information on how to properly start the postmaster.\n\n"