Bug#337582: [Pbuilder-maint] Bug#337582: automatic creation of pbuilder user would be helpful

[Charles Fry]

> > I may be missing some technical limitations of this that weren't ovious
> > in the documentation, but it seems to me that the pbuilder Debian
> > package could automatically create a pbuilder user, in a manner similar
> > to many other programs, rather than relying on the user to do so
> > themselves.
> 
> What user does pbuilder require that it doesn't create?

It doesn't *require* one, but according to section 6. of the User's
Manual:

   "pbuilder requires full root privilege when it is satisfying the
   build-dependencies, but most packages do not need root privilege, or
   fail to build when they are root. pbuilder  can create a user which
   is only used inside pbuilder  and use that user id when building, and
   use the fakeroot command when root privilege is required."

Further, it is generally best practices to resort to full root
privileges only when aboslutely necessary, and to work with user
privileges whenever possible.

I see two obvious ways to make such desirable behavior the default:

1) Automatically create a pbuilder user (as already suggested
in /etc/pbuilderrc), as originally suggested in this bug report.

or

2) Be default drop to the privileges of the user who invoked pbuilder to
begin with.

Charles

-- 
In Cupid's little
Bag of trix
Here's the one
That clix
With chix
Burma-Shave
http://burma-shave.org/jingles/1947/in_cupids_little
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