Re: Ideas for splithost, hostname, multiemail in Logwatch 8.0

Mike Tremaine wrote:
> MrC wrote:
>>
>> Mike Tremaine wrote:
>>> I sat down [finally] and looked through these commandline switches to 
>>> try and bring some order to it. Here is what I see
>>>
>>> --splithost creates a loop for each detected host in the logs.
>>>
>>> --multiemail can only work with split host and allows you to send each 
>>> part of the splithosts report to different addresses.
>>>
>>> --hostname is sort of messed up logwatch pulls hostname from a POSIX 
>>> call but you can define it. And if you use the secret --hostlimit 
>>> command it will only make a report for hostname.
>>>
>>> So that is 4 piece to the host report puzzle.
>>>
>>> Here is my rough draft please comment.
>>>
>>> Remove all the above.
>>>
>>> Make --hostlimits [none, splithosts, splitemails, limithost:??]
>>>
>>> none is default and logwatch does it's thing as normal.
>>>
>>> splithost trips the old splithost feature.
>>>
>>> splitemail is splithost with multiemails.
>>>
>>> limithost is hostlimit but I'd like to have it define the host(s) to 
>>> limit the report to. I though maybe a special character like ":" could 
>>> be add followed by the hostname you want. Then I thought why not allow 
>>> a list? So would it be easier to add another config option to list the 
>>> hostname(s) or is keeping the config options to a minimum the based 
>>> approach?
>>>
>>> I think [and I might be wrong] that --hostlimits 
>>> "limithost:server1,server2" is a valid option command and I could 
>>> obvious split on : and then split for , and get the targets. An empty 
>>> limithost would obviusly be for the hostname provide by the POSIX call.
>>>
>>> -Mike
>>>
>> Hi Mike,
>>
>> I'm not sure I see the need for the option layering.
>>
>> What is the purpose of --hostlimits none ?  Since this is the default 
>> behavior, it is equivalent to not specifying the option at all.  Is this 
>> to allow overriding a config file setting ?
>>
> 
> Yes. Say you stick Hostlimits splithosts in your logwatch.conf but then 
> you want to fire off a one time report --hostlimits none.

I would suggest a more common, vanilla approach:

--nosplithost

Usage of the --no prefix is very common, and built into Getopts.

> 
>> It seems like there's an unnecessary overlap of functionality with 
>> --output mail and --limithost splitemail.  Wouldn't this be equivalent 
>> to --output mail --splithost ?  Since one must pre-configure email 
>> addresses for per-host emails, this seems redundant.
> 
> No because splithosts does can still be print to file or stdout. But 
> splitemails must be --output mail [so I will add a logic switch to force 
> output mail when --hostlimits splitemails.]

I understood that.  Again, this is more towards my suggestions below 
about overlapping distinctly separate concepts.

> 
>> It think *how* the reports are split should be distinct from *where* the 
>> reports go (email, file, screen), and distinct from email address 
>> specification.
>>
>> I would suggest something along the lines of :
>>
>> --splithost
>>   per-host reports.
>>
>> --splithost --output mail
>>   same as above, but mail separate reports as configured in the config
>>   file.
>>
>> --splithost --output mail --mailto "host1:email1 host2:email2"
>>   same as above, but uses specified per-host email addresses.
>>
>> --hostlist host1,host2,host3
>>   unsplit reports on only hosts host1, host2, and host3
>>   and --hostlist is a new option.
>>
>> --splithost --hostlist host1,host2,host3
>>   same as above, but split by host.
>>
>> Lists can be comma or whitespace separated (protected with quotes as 
>> necessary for the shell, as I've shown above in the examples).
>>
>> As a personally preferance, I think --reportbyhost is clearer than 
>> --splithost, but I won't --splithairs.
>>
> 
> Ok good input. I was trying to get them all under 1 switch because we 
> have had a tendency to feature grow the available switches and people 
> forgot how to use them all.
> 
Thanks.  Yet, I think they forget because none of these features is 
documented!  The man page has no information about splithosts, 
multiemail, or output, and because these options have obtuse, 
nonstandard names/meanings, users's can't be expected to know how they 
operate, let alone remember!

MrC

> Anyone else have an opinion?
> 
> -Mike