Ensure pidfile directory exists and RUN_USER has access

[fpauser]

As /var/run is mounted as tmpfs at least under Debian/Ubuntu.

[fpauser]

Initial creation of the $PIDFILE directory during init-script generation is not enaugh as for example under debian/ubuntu /var/run is a tempfs meaning all information is none persistent and gone after reboot.

As long as no $RUN_USER was specified and jsvc is invoked as root-user this is not a problem because jsvc manages to create its missing $PIDFILE directory (strange enough, only when run as root).

If a $RUN_USER was specified, jsvc is started using sudo su $RUN_USER thus requiring rights to create its $PIDFILE as $RUN_USER (thats why I added the ugly chown part).

But jsvc has a -user option which makes jscv manage (create/destroy) its $PIDFILE as root user, running afterwards as $RUN_USER which is exactly what we need - but in that case jsvc does not create the missing $PIDFILE directory (maybe a jsvc-bug / missing feature?).

Anyway. My patch now ensures that the $PIDFILE directory exists and that jsvc - in case a $RUN_USER was specified - is started using the -user option instead of running it through sudo su $RUN_USER.

What do you think?

[kares]

ok, you kind of convinced me with making the dir due tempfs (but without chown-ing it each and every time).
sounds like we should make sure the dir is accessible with $RUN_USER while creating it, is that ok for you ?
something like a mashup of your original code :

PIDFILE_DIR=$(dirname $PIDFILE)
if [ ! -d $PIDFILE_DIR ] ; then
  mkdir -p $PIDFILE_DIR
  [ ! -z "$RUN_USER" ] && chown -R $RUN_USER $PIDFILE_DIR
fi

unfortunately, the added jsvc -user option is kind of a step "back" - it does not work for everybody see #12.
we'd like to keep what works for all of us by default and sudo sounds like it. there was an attempt to bring back jsvc -user already at #16 and I do not mind changing it back but than we need to get the bottom of why it did not work for all previously ... (maybe it's a jsvc bug not sure)

[fpauser]

From the jsvc docs:
[..] Jsvc is a daemon process so it should be started as root and the -user parameter allows to downgrade to an unprivilegded user. [..]

I think the -user option should really be favored instead of invoking the jsvc daemon as unprivileged user using "sudo".

The issues #12 (2012-01-20) and #16 (2012-02-22) were reported before jsvc-1.0.10 was released (2012-02-24) and could well be fixed in jsvc-1.0.10, see https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/DAEMON-242.

Maybe you can try to reproduce #12 using jsvc-1.0.10?

My Environment:
OS: Ubuntu 10.04.4 LTS (server)
JRuby: jruby 1.6.7.2 (ruby-1.9.2-p312) (2012-05-01 26e08ba) (Java HotSpot(TM) Client VM 1.7.0_04) [linux-i386-java]

[kares]

@fpauser we all know and appreciate the jsvc -user option it's just that it did not work for some of us !
I promise I'll look into it, but this pull was originally not about jsvc -user do you think some of the code is still worth pulling without changing the sudo semantics for now ? If so could you review the commits please and open another issue for changing the jsvc -user option (we'd most likely keep a documented switch for troubleshooting or attempt to check whether it really works during script generation), thanks a lot

[kares]

one last thing could you maybe squash things into a single commit thus it's more consistent with what we're doing ?
if not I'll do it myself when I get to it in the evening ... thanks a lot !