[clarkgoble]

Dumb question. If I want mysql to start automatically (or any other service) I create a directory in /System/Library/StartupItems with a script (apparently of any name). The script in the directory gets exectuted.

However I notice that almost all the scripts have an associated plist which is named StartupParameters.plist. Do you need to have that? All it seems to do is have a few names and messages.

Any links to the "idiots guide to how startup scripts work in Darwin"?

I have mysql installed via Fink, but I don't believe that /sw/bin/safe_mysql actually ever gets executed. . .

I read somewhere that you execute a command "daemonic" but I don't think that actually is a command (that I can see in the man pages)

[clarkgoble]

Found some stuff myself. I guess Daemonic is available with Fink and sets all those things up for you.

Here's a nice tutorial. (Very good site)

http://snow.prohosting.com/guru4mac/...on_macosx.html

[Arkham_c]

Just an fyi, don't put anything in /System/Library/StartupItems/ -- instead, put them in /Library/StartupItems. -- /System is for OS-level stuff only and could be overwritten in new OS upgrades.

[gatorparrots]

Indeed, Apple's intended location for user-added startup scripts is:
/Library/StartupItems

You can read more about their creation and deployment here:
Creating SytemStarter Startup Item Bundles HOWTO
http://developer.apple.com/documenta...ter_howto.html
Booting and Logging In: Customization Techniques
http://developer.apple.com/documenta...section_4.html
Mac OS X 10.2: How to Set the MTU Value During Startup
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107474
Mac OS X 10.2: How to Set Ethernet Speed and Duplex During Startup
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107475

[clarkgoble]

Thanks for the info.

Oh, I found some limited documentation on Daemonic as well.

http://daemonic.sourceforge.net/

Regarding mySQL the following has a reasonable tutorial and a startupitem all configured for you.

http://www.entropy.ch/software/macosx/mysql/

There is one big question I have after playing around with the poorly documented daemonic and trying to get mySQL to work in the StartUpItems directory.

StartUpItems have in their plist three commands: start, stop, and restart.

However with Jaguar Apple pretty much only supports starting daemons and not stopping them at shutdown. (Well, they have a little known application called SystemStarter which can do all of them - but that's kind of useless)

So the big question is whether Panther shuts daemons like mySQL down gracefully. That has been a rather large, gaping bug in OSX - especially considering it has probably been there since the old NeXT days.