Uploaded image for project: 'MariaDB Server'
  1. MariaDB Server
  2. MDEV-32274

"Symlink" mentioning in the command line tool documentation

Details

    • Bug
    • Status: Closed (View Workflow)
    • Major
    • Resolution: Fixed
    • None
    • N/A
    • Documentation
    • None

    Description

      A bulk of documentation for the command line tools such as mysql_upgrade, mysqldump etc is dedicated to documentation of what is symlink of what. E.g for mysqldump, we got
      https://mariadb.com/kb/en/mysqldump/
      ---------------------
      MariaDB starting with 10.4.6
      From MariaDB 10.4.6, mariadb-dump is a symlink to mysqldump.

      MariaDB starting with 10.5.2
      From MariaDB 10.5.2, mariadb-dump is the name of the command-line client, with mysqldump a symlink .

      MariaDB starting with 11.0.1
      From MariaDB 11.0.1, mysqldump (the symlink) is deprecated and removed from the mariadb Docker Official Image. Use mariadb-dump instead.
      -----------------------------------

      First, it is generally incorrect. On Windows, there were never symlinks. These executables are created during the build as hardlinks, and gets packaged as full copies. ZIP can't package symlinks or hardlinks, the archive format does not support it. Ditto MSI.

      Second, who cares about it? It is a tiny implementation defail that can be mentioned for all executables in small font somewhere else.

      Can we change the wording, so it is less confusing, and correct, even if we are on Windows? For the end user, again, it is too much information, and an unimportant detail. Whether it is a symlink, a hardlink, or a full copy, an alias, or a shell wrapper, or a .bat wrapper, functionality remains the same. If someone is curious, there is a Unix command "file", and Unix command "ls -l", an Windows "dir" that would reveal what link points where.

      I do not think I ever read user documentation of any software mentioning in such detail what kind of link every installed file would be.

      Of course people care if file is removed. For Docker, one does not need to say removed file was a symlink , one does not even need to say it got deprecated, because, well, it is not there anymore.

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            greenman Ian Gilfillan
            wlad Vladislav Vaintroub
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              Created:
              Updated:
              Resolved:

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