app launchers should NOT modify /proc/sys/vm

app launchers should NOT modify /proc/sys/vm

[Sebastian Spaeth]

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Currently, the navit (routing app) launcher script modifies
/proc/sys/vm/overcommit_memory without ever setting it back. This change
should -if at all- should only be done with serious evaluation on the
respective devices IMHO. I don't want to introduce random OOM process
killings because apps start using the RAM the kernel has promised to them.

Do I get the OK to remove the relevant lines? I will follow up on this
mail with a patch that you can ACK.

spaetz

Commit introducing this:
http://cgit.openembedded.net/cgit.cgi/openembedded/commit/?id=742fb4ae71e6a7e655385086ba9edebbf00b6ebd

author	Matthias Hentges <oe@hentges.net>
committer	Matthias Hentges <oe@hentges.net>	2008-01-05
commit	742fb4ae71e6a7e655385086ba9edebbf00b6ebd
--- a/dev/null
+++ b/packages/navit/files/navit.launcher
...
+ if test "$USER" = "root"
+ then
+ echo "Enabling low-mem workaround..."
+ echo 1 > /proc/sys/vm/overcommit_memory



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app launchers should NOT modify /proc/sys/vm

[Sebastian Spaeth]

P.S. Sorry if this comes through twice. Dreamhost mail server was having
issues...

Currently, the navit (routing app) launcher script modifies
/proc/sys/vm/overcommit_memory without ever setting it back. This change
should -if at all- should only be done with serious evaluation on the
respective devices IMHO. I don't want to introduce random OOM process
killings for everyone because apps start using the RAM the kernel has
promised to them.

Do I get the OK to remove the launcher which is only doing this hackery?
I will follow up on this mail with a patch that you can ACK.

spaetz

Commit introducing this:
http://cgit.openembedded.net/cgit.cgi/openembedded/commit/?id=742fb4ae71e6a7e655385086ba9edebbf00b6ebd

author	Matthias Hentges <oe@hentges.net>
committer	Matthias Hentges <oe@hentges.net>	2008-01-05
commit	742fb4ae71e6a7e655385086ba9edebbf00b6ebd
--- a/dev/null
+++ b/packages/navit/files/navit.launcher
...
+ if test "$USER" = "root"
+ then
+ echo "Enabling low-mem workaround..."
+ echo 1 > /proc/sys/vm/overcommit_memory

[PATCH] navit: Do not set /proc/sys/vm/overcommit in an app launcher, especially not without ever changing it back.

[Sebastian Spaeth]

* This reverts parts of 742fb4ae71e6a7e655385086ba9edebbf00b6ebd
* If someone wants to do use this, it should be done on a more finegrained distro basis

Signed-off-by: Sebastian Spaeth <Sebastian@SSpaeth.de>
---
 recipes/navit/files/navit.launcher |   30 ------------------------------
 recipes/navit/navit.inc            |    4 ----
 2 files changed, 0 insertions(+), 34 deletions(-)
 delete mode 100644 recipes/navit/files/navit.launcher

diff --git a/recipes/navit/files/navit.launcher b/recipes/navit/files/navit.launcher
deleted file mode 100644
index b95aadb..0000000
--- a/recipes/navit/files/navit.launcher
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,30 +0,0 @@
-#! /bin/sh
-#
-# Copyright Matthias Hentges <devel@hentges.net> (c) 2008
-# License: GPL (see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt for a copy of the license)
-#
-# Filename: navit.launcher
-# Date: 20080105 (YMD)
-#
-#################################################################################
-#
-# 20080105 - v0.0.1	- Initial release
-
-# On devices with low memory (< 512Mb?) Navit will segfault on start.
-# This can be worked around by doing
-# "echo 1 > /proc/sys/vm/overcommit_memory"
-
-if test "`cat /proc/meminfo | grep ^MemTotal | awk '{print $2}'`" -lt "500000"
-then
-	if test "$USER" = "root"
-	then
-		echo "Enabling low-mem workaround..."
-		echo 1 > /proc/sys/vm/overcommit_memory
-	else
-		echo "I need root-privs to enable the low-mem workaround!"
-	fi
-fi
-
-navit.real $*
-	
-
diff --git a/recipes/navit/navit.inc b/recipes/navit/navit.inc
index 8ad439d..fa250ff 100644
--- a/recipes/navit/navit.inc
+++ b/recipes/navit/navit.inc
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ FILES_${PN}-dbg += "${libdir}/${PN}/*/.debug"
 
 SRC_URI_append = " \
                   file://navit.desktop \
-                  file://navit.launcher \
                   file://navit.png \
 	  	 "
 
@@ -25,8 +24,5 @@ do_install_append() {
         install -d ${D}${datadir}/pixmaps/
         install -m 0644 ${WORKDIR}/navit.png ${D}${datadir}/pixmaps/
 
-        mv ${D}${bindir}/navit ${D}${bindir}/navit.real
-        install -m 0755 ${WORKDIR}/navit.launcher ${D}${bindir}/navit
-
 	rm ${D}${libdir}/${PN}/*/*.la
 }
-- 
1.6.3.3

Re: [PATCH] navit: Do not set /proc/sys/vm/overcommit in an app launcher, especially not without ever changing it back.

[Leon Woestenberg]

Hello all,

On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 1:53 PM, Sebastian Spaeth <Sebastian@sspaeth.de> wrote:
> * This reverts parts of 742fb4ae71e6a7e655385086ba9edebbf00b6ebd
> * If someone wants to do use this, it should be done on a more finegrained distro basis
>
+1 for the reverting patch.

Agreed with the remark this belongs in distro policy.

>
> -# On devices with low memory (< 512Mb?) Navit will segfault on start.
> -# This can be worked around by doing
> -# "echo 1 > /proc/sys/vm/overcommit_memory"
>

Regards,
-- 
Leon