Bug#1094921: sysvinit-core: does not write entries to wtmpdb

[Andrew Bower]

Package: sysvinit-core
Version: 3.13-1
Severity: normal

sysvinit-core does not write entries to the new wtmpdb.

I fully understand how deeply unattractive the idea would be of any of
the following approaches to doing this:

 - linking with libwtmpdb
 - spawning wtmpdb
 - doing anything more direct with the wtmpdb sqlite database

But the user experience is obviously not going to be ideal as things
stand. I don't think there's even a decoder tool left in the archive
although old ones still work of course.

runit manages this by spawning wtmpdb asymmetrically: on boot through
stage 1 scripts and on shutdown in the shutdown command.

So I thought it would be best to have a bug to stash considerations
around this from a sysvinit-centric perspective. I did a while back
browse the old threads where wtmpdb was introduced but I can't remember
any input from non-systemd users and rather than go back to the thread I
think we should focus on what we can do from where we are now.

Any thoughts on:

 - install an initscript with wtmpdb that imports the missing real wtmp
   entries into wtmpdb at boot.
 - install an initscript with wtmpdb independently to record startup and
   shutdown, but less reliably than init itself would.
 - reinstate a classic wtmp toolset and compat for wtmpdb?

Thanks,

Andrew