[iptables PATCH] doc: ebtables-nft.8: Adjust for missing atomic-options

[iptables PATCH] doc: ebtables-nft.8: Adjust for missing atomic-options

[Phil Sutter]

Drop any reference to them (and the environment variable) but list them
in BUGS section hinting at ebtables-save and -restore tools.

Fixes: 1939cbc25e6f5 ("doc: Adjust ebtables man page")
Signed-off-by: Phil Sutter <phil@nwl.cc>
---
 iptables/ebtables-nft.8 | 64 ++++++-----------------------------------
 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 56 deletions(-)

diff --git a/iptables/ebtables-nft.8 b/iptables/ebtables-nft.8
index 1fa5ad9388cc0..08e9766f2cc74 100644
--- a/iptables/ebtables-nft.8
+++ b/iptables/ebtables-nft.8
@@ -44,12 +44,6 @@ ebtables \- Ethernet bridge frame table administration (nft-based)
 .br
 .BR "ebtables " [ -t " table ] " --init-table
 .br
-.BR "ebtables " [ -t " table ] [" --atomic-file " file] " --atomic-commit
-.br
-.BR "ebtables " [ -t " table ] [" --atomic-file " file] " --atomic-init
-.br
-.BR "ebtables " [ -t " table ] [" --atomic-file " file] " --atomic-save
-.br
 
 .SH DESCRIPTION
 .B ebtables
@@ -149,11 +143,9 @@ a table, the commands apply to the default filter table.
 Only one command may be used on the command line at a time, except when
 the commands
 .BR -L " and " -Z
-are combined, the commands
+are combined or the commands
 .BR -N " and " -P
-are combined, or when
-.B --atomic-file
-is used.
+are combined.
 .TP
 .B "-A, --append"
 Append a rule to the end of the selected chain.
@@ -313,39 +305,6 @@ of the ebtables kernel table.
 .TP
 .B "--init-table"
 Replace the current table data by the initial table data.
-.TP
-.B "--atomic-init"
-Copy the kernel's initial data of the table to the specified
-file. This can be used as the first action, after which rules are added
-to the file. The file can be specified using the
-.B --atomic-file
-command or through the
-.IR EBTABLES_ATOMIC_FILE " environment variable."
-.TP
-.B "--atomic-save"
-Copy the kernel's current data of the table to the specified
-file. This can be used as the first action, after which rules are added
-to the file. The file can be specified using the
-.B --atomic-file
-command or through the
-.IR EBTABLES_ATOMIC_FILE " environment variable."
-.TP
-.B "--atomic-commit"
-Replace the kernel table data with the data contained in the specified
-file. This is a useful command that allows you to load all your rules of a
-certain table into the kernel at once, saving the kernel a lot of precious
-time and allowing atomic updates of the tables. The file which contains
-the table data is constructed by using either the
-.B "--atomic-init"
-or the
-.B "--atomic-save"
-command to generate a starting file. After that, using the
-.B "--atomic-file"
-command when constructing rules or setting the
-.IR EBTABLES_ATOMIC_FILE " environment variable"
-allows you to extend the file and build the complete table before
-committing it to the kernel. This command can be very useful in boot scripts
-to populate the ebtables tables in a fast way.
 .SS MISCELLANOUS COMMANDS
 .TP
 .B "-V, --version"
@@ -371,16 +330,6 @@ a target extension (see
 .BR "TARGET EXTENSIONS" ")"
 or a user-defined chain name.
 .TP
-.B --atomic-file "\fIfile\fP"
-Let the command operate on the specified
-.IR file .
-The data of the table to
-operate on will be extracted from the file and the result of the operation
-will be saved back into the file. If specified, this option should come
-before the command specification. An alternative that should be preferred,
-is setting the
-.IR EBTABLES_ATOMIC_FILE " environment variable."
-.TP
 .B -M, --modprobe "\fIprogram\fP"
 When talking to the kernel, use this
 .I program
@@ -1100,8 +1049,6 @@ arp message and the hardware address length in the arp header is 6 bytes.
 .br
 .SH FILES
 .I /etc/ethertypes
-.SH ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
-.I EBTABLES_ATOMIC_FILE
 .SH MAILINGLISTS
 .BR "" "See " http://netfilter.org/mailinglists.html
 .SH BUGS
@@ -1109,7 +1056,12 @@ The version of ebtables this man page ships with does not support the
 .B broute
 table. Also there is no support for
 .B string
-match. And finally, this list is probably not complete.
+match. Further, support for atomic-options
+.RB ( --atomic-file ", " --atomic-init ", " --atomic-save ", " --atomic-commit )
+has not been implemented, although
+.BR ebtables-save " and " ebtables-restore
+might replace them entirely given the inherent atomicity of nftables.
+Finally, this list is probably not complete.
 .SH SEE ALSO
 .BR xtables-nft "(8), " iptables "(8), " ip (8)
 .PP
-- 
2.32.0

Re: [iptables PATCH] doc: ebtables-nft.8: Adjust for missing atomic-options

[Pablo Neira Ayuso]

Hi Phil,

On Wed, Jul 28, 2021 at 05:56:43PM +0200, Phil Sutter wrote:
[...]
> +.BR ebtables-save " and " ebtables-restore
> +might replace them entirely given the inherent atomicity of nftables.

Agreed.

Acked-by: Pablo Neira Ayuso <pablo@netfilter.org>