Replacement for systemctl in Slackware

I hope I don't start another fight in this thread, but I feel I am encountering some trouble while learning Linux.

As many would know, most Linux distributions use systemd as their default init system for managing services and daemon, etc using the command 'systemctl'.

I wonder if there are any alternative commands to use instead of 'systemctl'.
Thank you.

daemons in Slackware are started and stopped using the shell scripts you can find in /etc/rc.d, there isn't a dedicated command to start/stop them because it's simply not needed : if you want to start apache you just have to make /etc/rc.d/rc.httpd executable and issue a

/etc/rc.d/rc.httpd start

simple as that.

In Slackware the services (aka daemons) are managed by shell scripts in /etc/rc.d, whose name begins with rc.

Have a look there.

There is no "general" command valid for all services, each script provides its own functions.

Often (but not always) the script allows to {start|stop|restart|check the status of} the service.

The admin can add (and possibly write) additional scripts.

The scripts need to be executable to run (at least this is checked by the scripts that run them).

Some services are started in a given order by /etc/rc.d/{rc.M,rc.S} through execution of the corresponding script.

The others can be started if called from /etc/rc.d/rc.local (to be populated by the admin).

For instance the attached script /etc/rc.d/rc.brltty manages brltty daemons.

In addition, a directory structure and functions are provided to manage scripts ala "ex Red Hat", also to be populated by the admin.

All in all, this structure has been proved versatile and easy to manage over many years.

Thanks for the response! Yet how can we find the appropriate script for the desired services?
For example, if we find a code online that tells us to enter:

systemctl enable atd

How should we translate that to a Slackware command?
I understand that sysV has its init written as shell scripts but couldn't find which to use.

Originally Posted by limpingstone Thanks for the response! Yet how can we find the appropriate script for the desired services? For example, if we find a code online that tells us to enter: systemctl enable atd How should we translate that to a Slackware command? I understand that sysV has its init written as shell scripts but couldn't find which to use.

The atd is started during boot by the /etc/rc.d/rc.M script which is run automatically when entering multi-user mode.

More generally if looking for the script which starts (say) the 'qwerty' service, first check whether there's a an rc.qwerty script in /etc/rc.d directory. If not, grep for qwerty in all files in /etc/rc.d directory (grep -i qwerty /etc/rc.d/rc.* or find /etc/rc.d/ -type f| xargs grep -i qwerty).

chris

Slackware uses BSD style init scrips, as opposed the SystemV, which was common among most distros, or SystemD, which is becoming common. This gives an overview of how the Slackware init system works: http://www.slackware.com/config/init.php

You can generally start a daemon by cding to the appropriate directory (commonly in /etc) and issuing the command

[daemon name] start

Sometimes the word "restart" replaces the word "start." You can see the man pages for the respective daemons for details and arguments.

You may also find this article helpful: http://w3shaman.com/article/starting...ally-slackware

I happen to have Mageia 6 on one of my computers. With Systemd. I managed to create a service which starts simple http server which comes with Python. As prrof of concept.

I had an idea. Creating Systemd unit which emulates BSD style RC system. For people who are forced to use Systemd in their line of work. Do you think it is worth the effort ? Creating a Systemd unit is ... quirky. Perhaps it might make life easier for those who use Systemd not by their own choice.

The idea came to me while playing with FreeBSD, which introduced RCNG, but still maintains traditional RC system.