[OT]: bash or any other $favourite{shell}? [was: Wish list]

[Chris Benson]

On Sat, Jun 10, 2006 at 09:17:33AM +0100, Luis Motta Campos wrote:
> 
>   Please leave your irony apart and teach me one thing: what are my
> alternatives to fix a broken system with a shell linked to ncurses or
> other "vitally important and stable" library? It just happen I need to
> get my install disks again and start over, or there is any other thing I
> can do without being able to log in due to a broken default shell?

1/ leave root's shell as sh (assuming sh isn't linked to half of /lib/lib*)
2/ keep a root-account called something else (toor, admin, me) with a 
different, statically linked shell (or better still one of those 'all Unix
systems calls in one binary' programs ... typically used on micro-distros).
3/ run production instances of the o/s in a zone/UML/VMWare/... that 
allows the global-zone/host o/s to access the childs data.
4/ use hardware that has a service processor that allows access the console
(after this thread I'm hoping that on our Sol10 boxes, I could do a 
	boot net install
then once it's booted, stop the install to get a usable sh.  Since I'm in
the middle of a machine room consolidation, I may get the chance tomorrow ...)

When my home server comes back from repair, I'm going to implement 2/ and 
look at 3/ (I've just ordered the PH UserModeLinux book).

At work, 
- I've just added 'configure the service/admin port on all machines
where it is not configured' to the to-do list for tomorrow (So 3/)
- All new applications (that will fit) are being put into Sol10 zones.
(So 4/).
- we usually do 1/ except where Linux fanboys attempt to configure the box
(d/loading bash from SunFreeware then making root's shell
/usr/local/bin/bash where /usr/local is (of course) a separate partition,
anyone?).  With Sol10 it's /usr/bin/bash.  But still:
	ws0cbe at sunray:~ $ grep ^root /etc/passwd
	root:x:0:0:Super-User:/:/sbin/sh