[Bug 2091657] Re: systemd-localed requires read-only-etc hacks for /etc/vconsole.conf and /etc/locale.conf

[James Henstridge]

As far as a test plan goes, I think this can mostly be done using the
localectl tool that is already shipped in the base snap. This exercises
the same D-Bus API that higher level tools like ubuntu-desktop-init use.
As a command line tool, it could likely be used by a spread test.

To test system locale changes, it might look something like this:

1. On a pristine Ubuntu Core system, run "localectl status". Verify that
the system locale is set to the default (seems to be "C.UTF-8" based on
the current core24 snap).

2. Modify the system locale by running "localectl set-locale
LANG=en_AU.UTF-8". The command should complete without error.

3. Check that the locale has changed by running "localectl status".

4. Check that the locale has been saved to /etc/locale.conf

5. Reboot the system, and run "localectl status" again to check that the
change has persisted.

Testing the key map changes is a little more difficult, since the
relevant commands have been patched out of our localectl:

    $ localectl set-keymap foo
    Setting X11 and console keymaps is not supported in Debian.

It should still be possible to call the D-Bus API directly via "busctl
call", but it will be a bit more verbose. Longer term, it might be worth
looking at whether we can drop the patch that disables set-keymap.

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2091657

Title:
  systemd-localed requires read-only-etc hacks for /etc/vconsole.conf
  and /etc/locale.conf

Status in systemd package in Ubuntu:
  Invalid
Status in systemd source package in Noble:
  Triaged

Bug description:
  [Impact]

  Ubuntu Core has a read-only /etc, but a writable partition in
  /etc/writable. In some versions of Ubuntu, the systemd package ships a
  patch to follow symlinks from /etc/ -> /etc/writable, e.g. for files
  like /etc/locale.conf.

  In Core24, this patch needs to be expanded for /etc/locale.conf and
  /etc/vconsole.conf in systemd-localed.

  [Test Plan]

  TODO

  [Where problems could occur]

  This hack is designed to be a no-op in non-Ubuntu Core cases. I.e.,
  when /etc/writable does not exist or does not have a link for the
  given path in etc, the original path is used.

  As is evident by the ever-expanding nature of this patch, this is not
  a complete solution. It's possible that more cases will be found where
  this hack needs to be applied.

  [Other information]

  This patch is not carried in supported releases newer than Noble.
  While this patch is far from ideal, expanding this hack has become the
  go-to for existing stable releases.

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