Add spigot support, add dynamic path to server logs, correct a variable

[alfonsojon]

I added spigot support to the server start sequence and the updater. I also merged in a change to allow a dynamic path for server log files (https://github.com/Ahtenus/minecraft-init/pull/157) and fixed some variables.

Also, the -XX:MaxPermSize=256M is there because Bukkit and Spigot tend to crash if that is not present.

[jgehrcke]

This pull request is too large. There are various dubious changes. It should not be accepted in the current form. Please, properly clean this up and document, for each individual change, how current behavior is not broken.

[alfonsojon]

I will make a separate branch for just spigot support, sorry about that.

[alfonsojon]

It makes sense because if the latest.log file exists, then it can be safely assumed that the server.log file is not used anymore.

[jgehrcke]

I am sure you are right, but out of curiosity: why is that safe? under which circumstances is the $MCPATH/logs/latest.log used?

So, if it is used, what does it imply? How is log rolling performed then (by which component)?

[alfonsojon]

It will be used if the file exists; otherwise it will use server.log

[alfonsojon]

Log rolling will be disabled as newer minecraft server softwares automatically compresses old logs. I should add support for moving the logs to the backup directory, too.

[jgehrcke]

It will be used if the file exists; otherwise it will use server.log: What is "it"? What do you mean by "used"?

In your current code you print "Logs are already rolled to \"$MCPATH/logs\"." when $MCPATH/logs/latest.log does exist. I do not understand why the one implicates the other.

Can you be more specific? These are important questions:

• What does it really, precisely, mean if $MCPATH/logs/latest.log exists?
• Does this mean that a specific server implementation is running (vanilla, spigot, ...)
• .. in a certain version (> x.y.z)?
• Does it mean that there is a component (the server itself or a plugin or a mod) that performs log rolling for us? Which component is that, exactly?

[alfonsojon]

If the user is using server software which uses the logs folder with latest.log, it will not roll the logs because the server does it already.

[alfonsojon]

Bukkit and Spigot both petform log rolling as of their respective stable builds, making the minecraft-init log roller redundent.

[alfonsojon]

However, other users may not be using the latest version and still use the traditional server.log file, so the functionality should not be removed, but rather used in that certain condition.

[jgehrcke]

I agree with your last statement, that both should be possible. If you write that code it would be great if you added a comment containing a reference to the corresponding Bukkit/Spigot log rollig feature. I am actually using Spigot and did not know that it has built-in log rolling support. This was our "misunderstanding", but you should have said/commented on that in your code already ;-), otherwise the $MCPATH/logs/latest.log-based distinction looks like a dirty hack.

[alfonsojon]

Will add comments when I get home or get a chance to pull out my laptop, thanks for the feedback :)

[jgehrcke]

I am not able to find official reference for the feature you are referring to, at least not within 5 minutes. What I have found is a Bukkit feature request:

https://bukkit.atlassian.net/browse/BUKKIT-1802

where this feature has been rejected. There also is an outdated plugin: http://dev.bukkit.org/bukkit-plugins/roll/

Another strong argument is http://www.spigotmc.org/wiki/spigot-configuration-spigot-yml/ -- I can not see an officially documented log rolling option there.

[alfonsojon]

Turns out, this is a general Minecraft 1.7 feature. It's part of both Vanilla, Bukkit, and Spigot.

[alfonsojon]

Which explains why there is nothing about it in the changelogs.