Re: [PR PATCH] [Merged]: vpsm: remove package

[classabbyamp <classabbyamp@users.noreply.github.com>]

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There's a merged pull request on the void-packages repository

vpsm: remove package
https://github.com/void-linux/void-packages/pull/49353

Description:
I have created this PR because of https://www.reddit.com/r/voidlinux/comments/1bgdi51/recommend_way_to_update_xbpssrc_packages/

vpsm's latest commit has been made five years ago. I've reviewed the script, and it seems that everything is still functioning correctly. However, there's a possibility that any future changes to `xbps-src` could potentially break vpsm.

One might argue that this doesn't matter because it's not broken (yet). One could say that vpsm is feature complete and it doesn't need any updates. But it appears to me as though it has been abandoned.

vpsm isn't compiled, no packages require it and it doesn't need to be system installed. It therefore meets none of the quality requirements.

I personally hate these wrapper scripts because they do not provide any value of their own. vpsm doesn't really combine `xtools`, `xbps-src` and `git` to produce something, it just executes the appropriate commands 1:1. For example, `vpsm update-sys` = `./xbps-src update-sys`, `vpsm show-deps` = `./xbps-src show-deps`, `vpsm push-commit`
 = `git push -u` etc.

This "hides the truth" from the user. Instead of using official, documented commands, `vpsm` users are encouraged to use `vpsm` (which uses those official commands) which adds an unnecessary layer of abstraction. Using official, documented commands should be preferred in my opinion.

But it isn't always 1:1. Users of vpsm might be surprised to find out[^1] that `vpsm build-environment` uses `XBPS_CHROOT_CMD=uchroot`, which is not the default way `xbps-src` is used. vpsm does special setup for this which requires superuser privileges, but it isn't properly documented. It also sets the set user ID bit on `xbps-uchroot`, which really should be documented. All of this shouldn't even happen in the first place, because `xbps-uchroot` has the right permissions set by default.

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[^1]: `vpsm` echos the commands used to set up the build environment, so the user will be made aware that `XBPS_CHROOT_CMD=uchroot` is used. However, I don't see it documented anywhere. Figuring this out as the commands are being run is too late.