Resurrecting file-rc

[Jesse Smith]

> Hi,
> 
> Sorry for leaving this so late, but I'd like to resurrect file-rc. For those
> not familiar, file-rc uses the SysV init daemon but records which scripts to
> start and stop for each runlevel in a single config file, /etc/runlevel.conf,
> instead of the traditional forest of symlinks in /etc/rc?.d/ . It achieves
> this by providing alternative implementations of update-rc.d, /etc/init.d/rc
> and /etc/init.d/rcS
> 
> The version of file-rc in stretch (0.8.18) works fine installed into a buster
> SysV VM. Since it only interacts with the established SysV interface rather
> than the ever-changing modern desktop/systemd world I wouldn't expect it to
> ever need much change. I'd be happy to help with any work that does turn out
> to need doing in future, although I am not a DD or DM.
> 
> It was removed in Debian bug 904318 on basically the argument that systemd
> provides all its advantages (with the added wonder that is systemd in
> general), missing the point that it's useful for people who A) want to use
> SysV init but B) prefer having the state of which scripts are started when in
> a single convenient file rather than a slightly awkward bunch of symlinks.
> 
> As I said, the stretch version still works as far as I can test, all that
> needs changing are the dependencies for initscripts and sysvinit-core, which
> should depend sysv-rc | file-rc instead of just sysv-rc, as they did in
> stretch.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Andrew
> 

I'd be willing to look at taking over maintenance of file-rc. Perhaps it
would make sense to make this an optional part of the SysV package?

- Jesse