Re: [Integrit-users] exit status

[Ed L C. <ec...@te...>]

RD...@ga... (Mr. Ross Druker) writes:

> Hmm.  I suppose it's a difference in philosophy.  TripWire, for example (at
> least the free version), returns several exit statuses:
> 
> 1=error, 2=files added, 4=files deleted, and 8=files changed.  This can be OR'd
> together.  E.g., 10=codes 8 and 2.
> 
> Another freeware integrity checker I was looking at, fcheck, uses 1 for
> software errors (e.g., can't find config file), and 2 for database
> inconsistencies.
> 
> I guess I'd put it down as something I'd like to see, but maybe others don't.

Some programs break with convention and overload the exit status even
when there is no error.  Sometimes it's because the developers are not
aware of the convention, and other times it's a deliberate choice.  I
suppose that in the case of tripwire, it was a deliberate choice, and
in that case it certainly is a difference in philosophy.  

Simplicity and consistency go hand in hand.  Feature bloat tugs at the
developer to violate or extend standards.  Integrit was created in
reaction to integrity-verification software that was burdened by an
explosion of features.  It is in keeping with integrit's simplicity to
be consistent with the exit status behavior that (experienced) users
expect instead of adding another feature that provides no new
information (the information is already in the report).  It is in
keeping with tripwire's abundance of features and steep learning curve
that there would be such a complex overloading of exit codes.

-- 
--Ed Cashin                   PGP public key:
  ec...@te...       http://www.terry.uga.edu/~ecashin/pgp/