Service Configuration Tool (svc) for Archlinux

Question

Hello, I'm providing you with a very simple Service Configuration Tool for the management of system services (scripts located inside /etc/rc.d).
DOWNLOAD LINK: http://aur.archlinux.org/packages.php?ID=30660
Usage:
svc DAEMON subcommand
DAEMON = name of the service to manage
subcommand = subcommand to pass to the service (e.g. start)
Example (DAEMON=samba):
svc samba enable
svc samba disable
svc samba configure
It acts as a wrapper for services and provides a mechanism for enabling (starting and adding the daemon to /etc/rc.conf) and disabling (stopping and removing the daemon from /etc/rc.conf) them. The tool does not constrain your subcommands to only enable and disable, any other service subcommand should act as expected (the value of this subcommand is passed to the rc.d script directly).
By its own, the script doesn't do much. It is with the help of a shell with a completion system (like zsh or recent versions of bash) that you can get the full benefits of it. For example, I only have to type "svc <TAB>" and all available system services will be available for completion, once a service is typed, it's subcommands (start, stop, restart, etc) will be available for completion too, along with enable and disable.
Other feature I integrate into some rc.d scripts is the subcommand "configure", which simply calls an editor with the service configuration file (e.g. vim /etc/samba/smb.conf). By combining this and the "svc" tool I can easily configure some services (the ones that make sense, apache is not a good candidate for this since it's got many configuration files): "svc samba configure".
This was done for two reasons: 1) I used opensolaris for over a year and a half, and when I switched back to linux there was a utility I really missed: "svcadm" (actually, the whole SMF is what I miss, but such a complete/beautiful init framework/service management replacement won't make it into gnu/linux any time soon); 2) As a system administrator, it's daunting to have to type "/e<TAB>/r<TAB>.<TAB>/$SERVICE_NAME $SUBCOMMAND" when I need to manage a service, it's much more pleasant to simply write "svc <TAB> $SERVICE_NAME $SUBCOMMAND" ($SERVICE_NAME and $SUBCOMMAND show options for completion when pressing <TAB>).
Along with the "svc" script, a script for the zsh completion system is provided. Please contact me if you have an implementation for bash.
Enjoy,
Edgar Merino
Last edited by bimbo (2009-10-08 01:53:58)

Answer 1

bimbo wrote:
You could easily get rid of those premade functions and integrate the functionality inside the _svc script:
In the "svc()" function, for every option of the switch (case) statement, prefix the calls to the rc.d scripts with "sudo", e.g. "sudo ${SERVICES_DIR}/$1 start". If you want to constrain completion options for services to only "( start stop restart)", remove the "enable" and "disable" bindings defined in the "svc()" function and modify the "_svc()"  function (notice the underscore) like this:
_svc() {
case $CURRENT in
2) # Show services under /etc/rc.d for completion
_services
3) # Show current service subcommands for completion
# This is here so that _init_d works on the service name rather
# than on the actual function name "svc"
(( CURRENT-- ))
shift words
# CONSTRAIN COMPLETION OPTIONS TO ONLY start, stop and restart
compadd start stop restart
esac
So, would I have to call it via _svc $DAEMON start or something similar, then?