Tony Nelson wrote:
If "rpm --initdb" doesn't destroy my personal RPM database, but the man
page seems to say that it does, how often should I repeat the command
before I advise others that it is completely safe and won't destroy their
RPM database?
This reminds me of the joke where a patient complains to his doctor
about the pain he experiences when continually bumping his head on a
wall: "Well, don't do that!" :-)
Being a cheap programmer, I keep several (3-4) old PCs (at least 4 years
old) for all kinds of software experimentation, like installing Linux.
Experimentation does not require you to user or lose valuable personal
data, only that you have an available PC (with things like Xen, you
don't even need that now.)
If you still need to see what would happen with your data, all you need
to do is to duplicate your data set onto a separate PC (or Xen VM
instance) and try the experiment that way. The idea is that this is the
best way to verify the functionality you're relying on actually works to
your satisfaction.
Frankly, even a grumpy answer from the horses mouth is much
more trustworthy, and way easier than reading all the relevent RPM source
code, especially when it starts jumping through function pointers.
Yes, you are correct, reading code can be very difficult. However, I
believe one should not take the maintainer's word when valuable personal
data is involved. Remember, the GPL *explicitly* says that no warranty
is expressed or implied; I take this to mean that I should personally
verify the package works for me, or at the very least, arrange to
back-up the data if it really matters that much to me. Unfortunately,
open source software requires this level of responsibilty. :-)
-- D.
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