[Fedora-packaging] LSB initscript ordering issues

I'm in the process of cleaning up an initscript I own to meet LSB standards but this has left me with several questions primarilary in the area of start up ordering. FYI, I'm utilizing the guidelines found here: https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/FCNewInit/Initscripts https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Packaging/SysVInitScript In the past we used hardcoded chkconfig start/stop numbers to control the order in which services were started and stopped. My understanding is that is deprecated (although still supported) but the preferred method is the LSB boot facility declarations (Required-Start, Should-Start, Required-Stop, Should-Stop). Correct? The section describing facility names seems a bit vague to me: Shouldn't the guidelines *require* that the LSB block have a Provides: declaration which at a minimum includes a name matching the initscript? If you read between the lines the guidelines seem to suggest that but it's not clearly an explicit mandate. Without that I don't see how one can use the boot facility dependencies for other services. In other words if I depend on mysql running then mysql must have declared it provides mysql, or is that provides implicit as opposed to explicit? In addition to the explicit eponymous Provides: what about virtual provides? Do we have a set of virtual provide names? (e.g. mailserver, webserver, or ldapserver) The guidelines also state that an initiscript should never be marked as %config and instead import configuration settings from /etc/sysconfig/$name. But what about the case where a service may have a variety of boot dependencies depending on how it's configured? For example a service might be configured to optionally use mysql vs. postgres, or to use LDAP vs. SQL so it will have boot dependencies on particular services which cannot be hardwired ahead of time. I doubt the LSB block parsing logic handles "includes" from /etc/sysconfig, or does it? Assuming not then the initscript has to be marked as %config right? -- John Dennis <jdennis(a)redhat.com&gt; Looking to carve out IT costs? www.redhat.com/carveoutcosts/