#599394 init script logging broken with parallel booting

Package:
exim4-base
Source:
exim4
Description:
support files for all Exim MTA (v4) packages
Submitter:
Stanislav Maslovski
Date:
2025-06-23 13:01:02 UTC
Severity:
minor
Tags:
#599394#5
Date:
2010-10-07 08:48:45 UTC
From:
To:
The approach to log the boot process that is currently implemented in
the init script of exim4 is inappropriate for parallel booting
(which is, by the way, the default for squeeze).

This is what I usually get in the boot log:
...
Thu Oct  7 12:34:55 2010: Starting MTA:Starting GNUstep distributed object mapper: gdomap.
Thu Oct  7 12:34:56 2010: CST Solver Server 2008 started successfully.
Thu Oct  7 12:34:56 2010: Starting mouse interface server: gpm.
Thu Oct  7 12:34:56 2010: Starting internet superserver: inetd.
Thu Oct  7 12:34:56 2010: Loading cpufreq kernel modules...done
(acpi-cpufreq).
Thu Oct  7 12:34:58 2010: Starting Music Player Daemon: mpd.
Thu Oct  7 12:34:58 2010:  exim4.
...
#599394#10
Date:
2010-10-08 18:01:27 UTC
From:
To:
[...]

Hello,
is there a commonly used solution yet? The examples in latest policy
basically work the same way.

cu andreas
#599394#15
Date:
2010-10-08 20:16:04 UTC
From:
To:
Hello,

Hm, the simple scripts use

log_daemon_msg "Starting $DESC" "$NAME"

which outputs the description followed by the daemon name in a single
atomic write, AFAIK.

In the case of several daemons started by an init script a possible
solution could be to abandon the idea of reporting the _progress_ in
real time, and instead report atomically just the final _result_.
#599394#34
Date:
2025-06-23 12:42:22 UTC
From:
To:
Version: 4.96-20
[...]

4.96-20 did away with multiple daemons and simplified init script
logging.

(It also added asystemd unit so I do not think many users will see the
change.)
cu Andreas