[Bug 238366] Review Request: autodownloader - GUI-tool to automate the download of certain files

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Summary: Review Request: autodownloader - GUI-tool to automate the download of certain files


https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=238366





------- Additional Comments From j.w.r.degoede at hhs.nl  2007-04-30 10:44 EST -------
(In reply to comment #4)
> Okay, happy to review.
> 
> (In reply to comment #3)
> > The 3rd paragraph is there to make it clear / emphasize that although
> > autodownloader is mean't to download files which we cannot distribute, that
> > autodownloader itself is 100% OSS.
> Autodownloader would have to be OSS to make it into Fedora, if you want to make 
> it clear, I'd perfer something to the effect of:
> "NOTE: Autodownloader while open source may download files which are not 
> permitted to be distributed in Fedora"

Okay, I'll change it into the above.

> > The order of the 1st and 2nd paragraph is like this, because I think the 
> proper
> > order to describe the use is first describing why and then how. The how only
> > makes little sense without first knowing the why.
> I think what it is, is more important than why you want to use it, why you want 
> to use it, is what a developer or another packager would want to know, and they 
> most likely have had a tip off from another maintainer that the package is 
> useful for what they wish to do
> 
> The reason you have what it is first, is so users can decide if they really 
> want to have it on their system without been bored to death first.
> 

Well the second paragraph is hard to understand for someone not into the matter
without first reading the first, it can be reworded to not depend on the first,
but that won't make things clearer IMHO, also I think its important to have the
first paragraph there, to make it clear how this is different from yum / a wget gui.

> Also, I'm tempted to suggest that before inclusion, a database of downloaded 
> files may need to be created, (also meaning that programs that have downloaded 
> files, should ALWAYS require autodownloader) with a %preun to remove downloaded 
> files (remembering that you wouldn't be able to remove autodownloader without 
> removing dependencies that require the files first).  This prevents 
> unneeded/unwanted files been left behind after uninstall.
> 

Interesting point, but autodownloader is not suid anything, and thus cannnot
write to such a global log file. It was designed to run as a normal user and
download files to dirs under the users $HOME. Yes this has a few downsides, but
from a security POV, this really is the best solution IMHO.

We might need to take another look at this (adding a suid helper written in C)
which can install files under /usr if autodownloader becomes popular and is used
to download big(ger) files.


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