[GRASS-dev] [Fwd: Re: GRASS permission issue]

[Tim Michelsen]

FYI:
posted on GRASS user

-------- Original-Nachricht --------
Betreff: Re: GRASS permission issue
Datum: Mon, 29 Mar 2010 22:17:55 +0200
Von: Tim Michelsen <timmichelsen at gmx-topmail.de>
An: qgis-user at lists.osgeo.org
CC: grass-user at lists.osgeo.org

Hello,
I have also run into this issue:
http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.gis.grass.user/31096

> /media/Docs is a automatically mounted partition every time i startup
>  the computer. Do you know how I can check if I'm fully authorized on
>  it ? I don't remember any similar issue with it but it could be 
> related.

As it seems to occuring over and over, I think this is a relict from the
early days of computing.
To my opinion there is no need to think that the GRASS users are by
default concurrently working on the same location.
This may have been true in old days where many people where sharing
mainframes or today in server environments.
Nowdays, desktops and notebooks are cheap. We are mostly using GRASS
like GIMP or Office programs: one person at one single computer.

Thus the following defaults may be revised:
* requiering the user to be the _owner_ or the files on linux/unix systems:
	* many users use shared partitions between windows and linux and
automount these
	* also on linux systems the one-user-one-computer is getting common
	* working with having GRASSDATADIR on an external large drive is difficult
* let users write on more than one mapset
	* again, concurrent use of a location is rather rare
	* this would help to get a file sorting function in order to clean up
the GRASSDIR once in a while
		(add a command g.move, http://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/891)
	* sharing information with between mapsets/locations instead of
replication saves disk space
           (http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.gis.grass.user/30333)
this is currently not possible

I know that some of the old cats or power users with _very special_
needs like server processing setups will be against a change which
affects the permissions/rights situation and capabilities of GRASS.
But please consider that such capabilities could still be maintained on
a non-default basis as compile options.
And the general public certainly wants an easy to use system where such
pecularities like permissions are important.

Be reminded that GRASS on Windows (focus of current release cycle) does
not know such rights at all.

I hope for an open discussion and helpful feedback,
Timmie