[slurm-users] Meaning of "defunct" in description of Slurm parameters

[Kevin Buckley]

On 2020/07/20 20:26, Riebs, Andy wrote:
> Ummm... unless I'm missing something obvious, though the choice of the term "defunct" might not be my choice (I would have expected "deprecated"), it seems quite clear that the new "SlurmctldHost" parameter has subsumed the 4 that you've listed. I wasn't privy to the decision to the discussion about adding the new parameter, so the value isn't enormously clear, except for the option of adding a second backup host (for a total of 3 "ControlMachine" candidates).
> 
> Andy

Given that we had moved straight to 20.02.3 from 19.05.5 without picking
up on the "Defunct", and that things do seem to be "working", then I think
your expectations around Defunct being incorrectly used, as a synonym
for Deprecated, are probably close to the answer.

Indeed, I could suggest that if something was really Defunct, then
there'd be little point in documenting it (just let it go!).

Maybe the man/web/page for slurm.conf might benefit from having an
explicit Deprecated and, though of less use, a Defunct, section
though.

As Jon Anderson of Yes might have said:

    "Don't point that Defuncted in my face: c'mon"

All the best,
Kevin
-- 
Supercomputing Systems Administrator
Pawsey Supercomputing Centre