Webware for Python

I ran into some questions regarding my work on the FreeBSD port
(for the meaning of a BSD "port" see
http://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/ports-using.html)
and would like to get some opinions from you.

So far, a fresh install from the port directory /usr/ports/www/Webware
seems to work well. On deinstallation, I remove the "common" directory
/usr/local/share/webware completely but let the directory of the
default webkit user, under /usr/local/www/webkit, untouched in order
to preserve configuration, log files etc. if a later re-installation
is desired.

In the course of a new installation, the AppWorkDir will be
"re-created". (If installed from a package, this step will be skipped,
but only due to a mistake of mine.) More specifically,
MakeAppWorkDir.py is called again on /usr/local/www/webkit. This has
the disadvantage that the previously existing configuration will be
overwritten. Depending on the inner workings of MakeAppWorkDir.py in
the then-current Webware version, existing ErrorMsgs and Logs might
get lost.

It seems to me that the "master dir", the "original" installation
under /usr/local/share/webware can always be substituted with the new
version. On the other hand I ask myself (and you ;-) ) which files or
directories in the AppWorkDir should be retained (and why).

A listing of the generated AppWorkDir is:

-rw-r--r--  1 root    wheel    205 Jul 18 11:04 404Text.txt
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root    wheel     62 Jul 18 11:04 AppServer*
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root    wheel     50 Jul 18 11:04 AppServer.bat*
drwxr-xr-x  2 webkit  webkit   512 Jul 17 18:01 Cache/
drwxr-xr-x  2 root    wheel    512 Jul 17 18:01 Cans/
drwxr-xr-x  2 root    wheel    512 Jul 17 18:01 Configs/
drwxr-xr-x  2 webkit  webkit   512 Jul 17 18:01 ErrorMsgs/
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root    wheel    410 Jul 18 11:04 Launch.py*
drwxr-xr-x  2 webkit  webkit   512 Jul 17 18:01 Logs/
drwxr-xr-x  2 root    wheel    512 Jul 17 18:01 MyContext/
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root    wheel    719 Jul 18 11:04 NTService.py*
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root    wheel   1358 Jul 18 11:04 OneShot.cgi*
drwxr-xr-x  2 webkit  webkit   512 Jul 17 18:01 Sessions/
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root    wheel   1948 Jul 18 11:04 WebKit.cgi*

- 404Text.txt, AppServer, Launch.py, OneShot.cgi and WebKit.cgi should
  be updated. That's no question, is it? ;-)

- Cache and Sessions may contain things that the owner may wish to
  keep. However, the format of these items could have changed between
  Webware versions so it's feasible that the contents of these
  directories should be deleted?

- What about the Cans directory? As long as Webware doesn't install
  anything here, the contents in it should be retained.

- The Configs should be kept for migration to the new version though
  the still-existing configuration files from the previous version
  might not work. (Side note: On using old configurations with a new
  Webware version I got a key error. IMHO, Webware should be more
  explicit on what the problem is or handle the missing/changed
  options gracefully, if possible. For these purposes, the files
  installed by MakeAppWorkDir.py should contain a version number.)

- ErrorMsgs and Logs should probably be kept, shouldn't they?

- The contents of MyContext should be kept, too.

- (In a FreeBSD installation, AppServer.bat and NTService.py could be
  deleted.)

Possibly, some of these issus regard the MakeAppWorkDir.py script more
than an installation routine for a particular operating system.

Stefan


P. S.: I'm already working on the mod_webkit port. :-)