I just saw this posted to the macos-x-server mailing list; Peter Borg has released a nifty little utility called Lingon, which lets you create or modify the configuration files for launchd, a component of OS X v10.4 and (presumably) later. launchd is Apple’s attempt to create a standard (and open-source) framework for startup services and system initialization, replacing things like cron and xinetd and StartupItems and whatnot; the best writeup I know of describing it outside of Apple is John Siracusa’s in his review of 10.4. The launchd discussion is on page five, but the whole review is really worth a read if you want an overview of the OS.
Anyway, the syntax for a launchd configuration file is straightforward enough if you’re accustomed to editing .plist files in OS X (it’s XML-based), but annoying to work with if you just want to set something up quickly — or, for example, if the teacher suddenly tasked with administering their school’s OS X Server setup isn’t accustomed to fiddling with the command-line just yet. (Okay, editing launchd items isn’t the best example in that case, but stay with me here.)
Here’s where Lingon comes in. It’s designed to let you specify the parameters you want for your configuration setup, and lets you activate or deactivate the configuration. There’s an optional wizard that walks you through creating specific types of configurations, such as running a process only on startup or at regularly scheduled intervals. You can also edit a configuration by hand if necessary, and validate the resulting XML file. Configurations can be set up on a per-user or system-wide basis, and loaded or unloaded on the fly. (Oh, and it’s a fat binary, too, if you happen to have an Intel-based OS X installation…. authorized or otherwise.)
So far, this looks like a really slick little application. It’s got some rough edges, like not being too smart about caching admin password requests, but I think it’s got enormous potential.
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