[Pkg-lirc-maint] Bug#860296: Bug#860296: lirc is spamming syslog with messages

[Alec Leamas]

On 20/08/17 12:22, Jörg Frings-Fürst wrote:
> Hello Alec,

>>   > Lirc is installed as a dependency.
>>
>> This is IMHO the basic problem. lirc should really never be installed as
>> a dependency (lirc-lib is another story). Installing lirc means
>> installing the server/service which as of now means running some
>> thousands lines of old code handling all sorts of user input as root.
>> This should only be done if you really need the server i. e., have IR
>> hardware attached. If not used, the server should be disabled or the
>> lirc package just removed.
>>
> 
> No, the basic problem is lircd every second log 2 lines. Roundabout
> thats 222 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 30 = 575.424.000 bytes / month . And only
> why lircd found no hardware.
> 
> This is absolutely unnecessary*, consumes resources, costs money and
> reduces lifetime of the hard disks.


Indeed. But sweeping this under the carpet by decreasing the log 
interval isn't really the proper solution here. IMHO user should disable 
the service or just remove the package. Having lircd  running without 
any ir hardware attached just makes no sense.

> And why must every messages have to be logged twice?

Because in a scenario when the user really tries to setup lircd, lircd 
keeps logging until a device is attached (i. e., hotplugged).

Of course, the log interval could be increased. But the basic problem is 
that a lot of users seems to have lircd running without any purpose. We 
need to address this, perhaps by having the service disabled/stopped by 
default, dunno.


Cheers!

--alec