[Xfce-bugs] [XFCE 0000217]: Adding 'run as root' to launchers and xfrun4

[xfce-bugs at xfce.org]

A BUGNOTE has been added to this bug.
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http://bugs.xfce.org/view_bug_page.php?f_id=0000217
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Reporter:                   benxor
Handler:                    bmeurer
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Project:                    XFCE
Bug ID:                     0000217
Category:                   general
Reproducibility:            always
Severity:                   feature
Priority:                   normal
Status:                     assigned
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Date Submitted:             2004-06-03 07:27 GMT
Last Modified:              2004-06-04 08:44 GMT
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Summary:                    Adding 'run as root' to launchers and xfrun4
Description: 
It would be great to have a 'run as root' or 'run as other user' option
added to launchers on the panel, and to xfrun4.
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 huysmans - 2004-06-03 07:58 GMT 
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"GNOME and KDE already have this functionality - why not XFCE?"

1) That's a lousy argument

2) because it's hard and has all kinds of security implementations

3) because no-one has done the work


Some of what you want, you may be able to achieve using sudo.

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 bmeurer - 2004-06-03 10:28 GMT 
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I wrote a sudo based implementation for xfce4-session, we could put that
into libxfce4util and use it.

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 benxor - 2004-06-03 12:24 GMT 
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1) How so? Because I'm saying something is standard in the big desktops, it
could also be added to... this desktop?

2) you could copy GNOME or KDE's code for it? use their implementation. is
there a standard set out by freedesktop for it?

bmeurer: a sudo-based xfce4-session? What would that do?

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 huysmans - 2004-06-03 13:10 GMT 
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"1) How so? Because I'm saying something is standard in the big desktops,
it could also be added to... this desktop?"

GNOME/KDE have a million things we don't have. A feature is either useful
or it's not. 

"2) you could copy GNOME or KDE's code for it? use their implementation.
is there a standard set out by freedesktop for it?"

Perhaps. It still requires someone to do the work and to look at security
implications. 

Benedikt meant he made a sudo-based system for xfce4-session (to shutdown
or reboot the computer). That's interesting, because it means there is
definitely code that can be used.

Another option is to use something like gksu (I think it's called that).

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 bmeurer - 2004-06-03 18:33 GMT 
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The gksu code is interesting, but it has two major problems:

a) its not yet finished (the author is currently reworking the stuff to
separate the backend/frontend code, once finished, one can simply use the
libgksu).

b) its not very portable. The author is a doesn't care well about
"foreign" plattforms. From a quick look at the code, atleast the su part
will run into problems, since it requires forkpty() which is only present
in BSD-derived Unices. Maybe I'm just too paranoid, since every plattform
currently officially supported by Xfce - that is Solaris, *BSD and Linux -
has forkpty.

Anyway, we could make libgksu an optional depend and provide "Run as..."
if libgksu is present.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 benxor - 2004-06-04 08:44 GMT 
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huysmans: This feature is useful. The work-around for it's lack is that I
have to put some complex run-inside-xterm crap. A normal user wouldn't
even know how to do that.
   I think it's an important feature, and that a lot of people would enjoy
seeing it. But anyway sounds like there's a couple of promising codebases
for it so I leave it as a suggestion =P