Tribblix: manual page: bart

BART_RULES(5) File Formats and Configurations BART_RULES(5)

NAME

bart_rules - bart rules file

DESCRIPTION

The bart_rules file is a text file that is used by the bart(8)
command. The rules file determines which files to validate and which
file attributes of those files to ignore.

Some lines are ignored by the manifest comparison tool. Ignored lines
include blank lines, lines that consist only of white space, and
comments that begin with #.

The rules file supports three directives: CHECK, IGNORE, and a
subtree directive, which is an absolute path name and optional
pattern matching modifiers. Each CHECK, IGNORE, and subtree directive
must be on a separate line. Bart supports continuation of long lines
using a backslash (\). The rules file uses the directives to create
logical blocks.

Syntax

The syntax for the rules file is as follows:

[IGNORE attribute...]*
[CHECK] [attribute...]*

subtree1 [pattern...]*
[IGNORE attribute...]*
[CHECK] [attribute...]*

subtree2 [pattern...]*
subtree3 [pattern...]*
subtree4 [pattern...]*
[IGNORE attribute...]*
[CHECK] [attribute...]*
...

Rule Blocks

Rule blocks are composed of statements that are created by using
directives and arguments.

There are three types of blocks:

Global Block
The first block in the file. The block is considered
``global'' if it specifies CHECK and IGNORE
statements, but no previous subtree statement. A
global block pertains to all subsequent blocks.

Local block
A block that specifies CHECK and IGNORE statements as
well as a subtree directive. The rules in this block
pertain to files and directories found in the
specified subtree.

Heir block
A block that contains a null CHECK statement, no
arguments. This block inherits the global CHECK
statements and IGNORE statements.

The order in which CHECK and IGNORE statements appear in blocks is
important. The bart command processes CHECK and IGNORE statements in
the order in which they are read, with later statements overriding
earlier statements.

Subtree specifications must appear one per line. Each specification
must begin with an absolute path name. Optionally, each specification
can be followed by pattern-matching arguments.

When a file system being tracked belongs to more than one subtree
directive, bart performs the following resolution steps:

o Applies the CHECK and IGNORE statements set in the global
block. Note that all CHECK and IGNORE statements are
processed in order.

o Finds the last subtree directive that matches the file.

o Processes the CHECK and IGNORE statements that belong to
the last matching subtree directive. These statements are
processed in the order in which they are read, overriding
global settings.

Pattern Matching Statements

There are two types of pattern matching statements

AND
For a given subtree directive, all pattern matching statements
are logically ANDed with the subtree. Patterns have the
following syntax:

o Wildcards are permitted for both the subtree and
pattern matching statements.

o The exclamation point (!) character represents
logical NOT.

o A pattern that terminates with a slash is a
subtree. The absence of a slash indicates that the
pattern is not a directory. The subtree itself does
not require an end slash.
For example, the following subtree example includes the
contents of /home/nickiso/src except for object files, core
files, and all of the SCCS subtrees. Note that directory names
that terminate with .o and directories named core are not
excluded because the patterns specified do not terminate with
/.

/home/nickiso/src !*.o !core !SCCS/
CHECK all

OR
Group multiple subtree directives together. Such subtree
directives are logically ORed together.

/home/nickiso/src !*.o !core
/home/nickiso/Mail
/home/nickiso/docs *.sdw
CHECK all
IGNORE mtime lnmtime dirmtime

The files included in the previous example are as follows:

o Everything under /home/nickiso/src except for *.o
and core files

o Everything under /home/nickiso/Mail

o All files under /home/nickiso/docs that end in
*.sdw
For these files, all attributes are checked except for
modification times.

File Attributes

The bart command uses CHECK and IGNORE statements to define which
attributes to track or ignore. Each attribute has an associated
keyword.

The attribute keywords are as follows:

acl
ACL attributes for the file. For a file with ACL
attributes, this field contains the output from
acltotext().

all
All attributes.

contents
Checksum value of the file. This attribute is only
specified for regular files. If you turn off context
checking or if checksums cannot be computed, the value of
this field is -.

dest
Destination of a symbolic link.

devnode
Value of the device node. This attribute is for character
device files and block device files only.

dirmtime
Modification time in seconds since 00:00:00 UTC, January
1, 1970 for directories.

gid
Numerical group ID of the owner of this entry.

lnmtime
Creation time for links.

mode
Octal number that represents the permissions of the file.

mtime
Modification time in seconds since 00:00:00 UTC, January
1, 1970 for files.

size
File size in bytes.

type
Type of file.

uid
Numerical user ID of the owner of this entry.

EXAMPLES

Example 1: Sample Rules File

The following is a sample rules file:

# Global rules, track everything except dirmtime.
CHECK all
IGNORE dirmtime

# The files in /data* are expected to change, so don't bother
# tracking the attributes expected to change.
# Furthermore, by specifying ``IGNORE contents,'' you save
# time and resources.
/data*
IGNORE contents mtime size

/home/nickiso f* bar/
IGNORE acl

# For /usr, apply the global rules.
/usr
CHECK

# Note: Since /usr/tmp follows the /usr block, the /usr/tmp
# subtree is subjected to the ``IGNORE all.''
/usr/tmp
/home/nickiso *.o
/home/nickiso core
/home/nickiso/proto
IGNORE all

The following files are cataloged based on the sample rules file:

o All attributes, except for dirmtime, mtime, size, and
contents, are tracked for files under the /data* subtrees.

o Files under the /usr subtree, except for /usr/tmp, are
cataloged by using the global rules.

o If the /home/nickiso/foo.c file exists, its attributes,
except for acl and dirmtime, are cataloged.

o All .o and core files under /home/nickiso, as well as the
/home/nickiso/proto and /usr/tmp subtrees, are ignored.

o If the /home/nickiso/bar/foo.o file exists, it is ignored
because it is subject to the last block.