# Auto setup Zoneminder....



## Phishfry (Mar 30, 2022)

What is the objection to having a large port making configuration files for typical usage.

I do understand that installing MySQL config file over an existing config file could be bad.

I guess what I am getting at is Zoneminder on Debian is just `apt-get install zoneminder`.

FreeBSD Zoneminder is a 5 page instruction sheet that does not seem in human readable form.

I am not picking on the Zoneminder Maintainer.
I am just wondering why we have the caveman mentality when the other guys seem to make it work.

Is this just me wanting things dumbed down again?

I am using Zoneminder as an example. It was an early prickly spot for me.


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## Phishfry (Mar 30, 2022)

Putting the ports config files deep inside is really helpful too.
/usr/local/share/examples/lalaland......


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## richardtoohey2 (Mar 30, 2022)

I know what you mean, but isn't it more the FreeBSD "way" to make things multi-step and make you _think_ about what you are doing?  (And OpenBSD for that matter, don't know about other BSDs).

Other operating systems are more "type this [or click this] and it's all done for you".  Like the installs that basically tell you to run a script off the internet to install something else off the internet.  Shouldn't you at least eyeball the script first?

Installing a huge relational database package that will need set-up and monitoring, possibly tuning and has recently had a lot of remote vulnerabilities is a big step.  I'm not dissing MySQL here - I use it all the time and it's great (but like everything, got its limitations), but I'm not sure it's install and walk away.

But obviously a lot of people and places do the "fire and forget" and it does work for them.

Personally I don't like the kitchen sink/batteries-included installs - I want to do a bit of thinking about what I'm installing, and why.  But yes, sometimes it gets too hard and I just go and use Linux or Windows or MacOS X to get something done in a hurry!


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## Phishfry (Mar 30, 2022)

I did think about this before speaking out. My mental answer was what is needed is a shim on setup.
Do you want to install typical config files (Y/N)

But realistically our ports tree is not setup for that and what I ask would be alot of work for port maintainers.
Stuffing example configs in a separate location is not bad. But for a one fingered typer those paths are long.

But my point was; While your copying your ports files somewhere why not go into applications directory.
Some like dnsmasq do seem to use that method and put a .sample file extension on the config file.
Some you must manually copy from /usr/local/share/examples.
Blah blah blah...
You can't please all of the people all of the time. What do you want for free. A rubber biscuit?


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## Phishfry (Mar 31, 2022)

Went searching to see what dnsmasq does differently.

OPTIONS_EXCLUDE+=    EXAMPLES

    ${INSTALL_DATA} ${WRKSRC}/dnsmasq.conf.example ${STAGEDIR}${PREFIX}/etc/dnsmasq.conf.sample

So it doesn't dump it in the applications directory but its root dir. That seems too loose.
I don't like littering /usr/local/etc/ that way. I copy to /usr/local/etc/dnsmasq/dnsmasq.conf.sample


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## Phishfry (Mar 31, 2022)

So can I assume this is up to the port maintainer where examples and samples reside?


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