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Groups > linux.debian.bugs.dist > #1135144

Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone

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On Wed, 27 Apr 2016 11:41:14 +0200 Martin Pitt <mpitt@debian.org>
wrote:
> Hello Aurelien,
> 
> Aurelien Jarno [2016-04-27 11:13 +0200]:
> > Unfortunately it seems a lot of software are actually using
> > /etc/timezone to configure the time zone. When switching to a
symlink
> > this made people unhappy, see for example bug#813226. This bug
points to
> > the following query:
> > 
> >
https://github.com/search?q=%2Fetc%2Ftimezone+dpkg-reconfigure+noninteractive+tzdata&type=Code&utf8=%E2%9C%93
> 
> Interesting, thanks for that link. It seems the majority is writing
> that file for a subsequent dpkg-reconfigure, but I've seen a few
reads
> as well. It seems over time a lot of software out there has adopted
> this Debianism.
> 
> Wrt. to #813226, I admittedly don't understand why /etc/localtime
> being a file or symlink is in any way related to which of
> /etc/localtime vs. /etc/timezone should have priority over the other
> on reconfiguration. I mean, the *.config scripts surely may treat
them
> differently, but that's just an implementation detail, not a
> conceptual/design problem?
> 
> Software (both tzdata itself and also other things reading/changing
> it) needs to get along with /etc/localtime being a symlink either
way,
> even before tzdata 2016a-1.
> 
> > What we can probably do is to stop looking or creating
/etc/timezone
> > if it doesn't exist, but keep updating it if it exists. What do you
> > think?
> 
> That might be cleaner in situations where someone explicitly removes
> it, but a lot less useful to avoid the redundancy problem.
> 
> Anyway, it seems to me that this is too deeply entrenched in the
> software world by now, so  I figure is is a case for 'wontfix' and
> just closing this report?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Martin

Hi,

I'm looking at this again, because handling /etc/timezone is one of the
last large technical debt patches that we carry in Debian for
src:systemd, and we want to drop it for Trixie.
The idea is to add a tmpfiles.d entry in the systemd package that
unconditionally deletes /etc/timezone if present. If someone wants to
keep using it, they can simply override the tmpfiles.d entry with the
usual mechanisms.

So, could you please reconsider the proposal to stop creating it if it
doesn't exist (but keep updating if it does) in the tzdata postinst as
above for Trixie?

Thanks!

-- 
Kind regards,
Luca Boccassi

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Thread

Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone Luca Boccassi <bluca@debian.org> - 2023-01-28 02:20 +0100
  Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone Michael Biebl <biebl@debian.org> - 2023-01-29 14:20 +0100
    Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone Michael Biebl <biebl@debian.org> - 2023-01-29 15:50 +0100
      Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone Luca Boccassi <bluca@debian.org> - 2023-01-29 19:10 +0100
      Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone Benjamin Drung <bdrung@debian.org> - 2023-02-06 14:20 +0100
        Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone Luca Boccassi <bluca@debian.org> - 2023-02-06 16:10 +0100
        Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone Aurelien Jarno <aurelien@aurel32.net> - 2023-02-07 23:10 +0100
          Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone Michael Biebl <biebl@debian.org> - 2023-02-07 23:50 +0100
            Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone Aurelien Jarno <aurelien@aurel32.net> - 2023-02-08 12:20 +0100
              Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone Benjamin Drung <bdrung@debian.org> - 2023-02-09 10:40 +0100
    Bug#822733: tzdata: Drop /etc/timezone Luca Boccassi <bluca@debian.org> - 2023-01-29 15:50 +0100

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