2021-11-18 11:25 UTC+01:00, Samuel Sieb <samuel(a)sieb.net>:
On 11/18/21 02:21, Andras Simon wrote:
> 2021-11-18 5:08 UTC+01:00, Ed Greshko <ed.greshko(a)greshko.com>:
>> On 18/11/2021 11:39, linux guy wrote:
>>> "And the "rm" man page also does not warn what would happen if
one
>>> enters
>>> "rm -rf /home"."
>>>
>>> Sorry, not the same context. Giving an app a directory to use does
>>> not
>>> allow the app to delete data it didn't create.
>>>
>>
>> Quite apparently, it does in this case.
>
> Just because dnf does it, it doesn't mean that it is allowed to do it.
> In a very technical sense, yes, but then, say, firefox is also allowed
> to wipe your home directory. dnf should've created a subdirectory of
> /home and wiped *that*, afterwards. Just as other apps are creating
> subdirectories of .config and do their thing there.
Except that this is a very different case. You're not telling dnf where
it can create its own directory. You are saying "this is your
directory, use it".
Yes, you have a point. It's a much better argument, than "it could,
because it did". I still think the prudent (and simple) thing is to
create a subdirectory and wipe that. Or at least put a scary warning
in the documentation.