Joshua Hudson wrote:I feel like asking how they initially get set to world-writable. To me
it means that the tree that is being tarred up for distribution is
world-writible. I sure hope that it is a single-user box.
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Yeah. Having said, "Take advice", I'm also curious as to just the why/how of the current configuration and the work patterns that create it. I get the impression that there *is* a reason for it, because if it were just a security issue, I can't see this much resistance to changing it. Sane tar permissions and sensible usage aside.
The kernel untar-and-compile procedure has been documented this way since at least 2000, from Linus. There's a good recent (and short) discussion from Jesper Juhl on LXer that references it, as well.
http://uwsg.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/0007.3/0587.html
http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/22410/
The previous two l-k threads I can find on this topic (one listed earlier in this thread, one referenced from it) don't seem to be any more revelatory about why the tarball is as it is. I might guess that it has to do with how changes get checked in, but I also have the vague memory that these aren't tar()ed on a development box. I could be wrong. Consider me seconding the "Why?" aspect, if anybody's still listening. :)
Matt