Noob Part 2: Media automounting ...

[Eli Crumrine]

"Bryan J. Smith" <b.j.smith at ieee.org> | Sun, 18 Jun 2006 19:58:12 -0400

> Okay, now I really see how ignorant I am.  I've really been doing too
> much server stuff and haven't been hacking the 'ole desktop -- just
> using GNOME and not caring how it worked.  I've started reading up on
> HAL as well as integration with udev, dbus and the various gnome-*
> components (-mount, -power, -volume-manager, etc...).  Damn I've
> really let me desktop knowledge slip in this age of kernel 2.6 and
> "it just works."
> 
> Anyhoo, I assume my older XFCE 4.2.3 install on Fedora Core 5 is not
> HAL-aware or doesn't have various support agents yet?  If that is the
> case, based on what I read, I should just go ahead and create
> the /etc/fstab** or automount entries as I wish -- correct?
> 
> Any other insight, RTFM responses (especially if this is documented
> somewhere and I'm just an ignorant fool that didn't see this), etc...
> are always appreciated!
> 

That is correct - no xfce components use hal.  In fact, I can think of
any place this would be useful in the current scheme of things. Xfce
does not do all of the 'abstraction' and hardware managing of gnome
and, I would assume, kde.  Use whatever standard automounter you
want, with the aid of /etc/fstab.  If you give "user" permissions on a
filesystem, many applications (such as rox-filer) can use standard
mount and umount calls to integrate these actions into a graphical
desktop.

> -- Bryan
> 
> **NOTE:  I read if /etc/fstab entries exist for removable devices,
> then GNOME's HAL/mount/volmgr just doesn't attempt to use them.
> 

This is also true.  I was setting up an ipod on an Ubuntu Gnome box
earlier today, and could not figure out why the fstab settings were
being ignored when the device was plugged in.  I guess hald has the
permissions to bring all these removable devices down to userspace.

I'm not sure how I feel about tacking on all these abstraction layers
and desktop daemons - looking at the process list on a Gnome box makes
me cringe a little.

-- 
2006:06:19
Eli C.