Note: I am not asking specifically about
rcas in The rc0.d,rc1.d,... directories in /etc
Many guides on the internet and this website remember the days when Linux distributions by default used files such as
/etc/rc.conf
/etc/X11/xorg.conf
/etc/sysctl.conf
/etc/modprobe.conf
/etc/apt/sources.list
/etc/pacman.conf
for configuration.
On my new Arch Linux (Kernel 4.17) and Ubuntu 18.04 installations, these are all now directories:
/etc/rc.conf.d/*.conf
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/*.conf
/etc/sysctl.conf.d/*.conf
/etc/modprobe.conf/*.conf
/etc/apt/sources.list.d/*.list
/etc/pacman.conf
(except for Pacman, who has not changed)
I can understand the reason for the change: a large number of short, well-named config files are easier to understand, use, debug, add to, etc than huge single files.
But where did the change come from? Nothing is ever mentioned about this shift.
Was it a concerted effort to move from single configuration files to .d directories?
Where did it come from or who suggested it, and why the .d name?
.dstuff separately... e.g.xorgdid it in 2010. As to why the.dname, it has already been asked... search under [tag:fhs] – don_crissti Aug 09 '18 at 21:37