Re: zsh as root login

[Tim Writer <Tim.Writer@ftlsol.com>]

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Marc Baudoin <Marc.Baudoin@solsoft.com> writes:

> Tim Writer <Tim.Writer@ftlsol.com> écrit :
> > 
> > Agreed.  But I'm curious as to why you (Marc Baudoin) even want zsh
> > statically linked.
> 
> Just to be able to log in as root while my computer in booted
> single user, as only / is mounted and root's shell is zsh.

How often are you running single user?  If the system is so badly hosed that
you can't get it to go multi-user, having zsh doesn't help much.

> > I prefer to keep root dead simple, using /bin/sh without evan a
> > .profile.
> 
> Why?  When you're logged as root, you also use ed instead of vi
> to keep it simple? :-)

ed? I use cat. :-)

But seriously, you didn't read what I said.  I keep "root" simple for
emergencies.  That is, to make sure I can login in an emergency.  I have a
pretty fancy set of zsh startup scripts and I don't want a stupid mistake or
an oversite to shut me out of root.  An alternate root account with a
different login name and zsh gives me the best of both worlds: safety and
functionality.

> As I manage a lot of machines remotely, I like to have a good
> shell for root (who still uses sh without beeing bothered?) and I
> don't want to have many uid 0 accounts.  So root's shell is zsh
> and it needs to be static so I can log in where I'm in front of
> the computer and it's booted single user.

I manage a lot of machines remotely too and I also like having a good shell.
But, I don't mind an extra root account.

However, my main point was: you can have it exactly the way you want it with
a three line script.  Trying to make configure be all things to all people
seems unwise.

Tim

-- 
Tim Writer                                              Tim.Writer@ftlsol.com
FTL Solutions Inc.
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA