editing the `rc.local` file

i`ve been editing the etc/rc.d/rc.local file, acording to the documentation i`ve read this file `cats` it`s content to the /etc/issue file, therefore it doesn`t allow the system to rewrite your edition of the `issue` file.
my question is, the edition of the rc.local file outputs it`s result inmediately, or only after a rebooting?

rc.local is the last file read by init to initialize the system, therefore, it is typically on read during a boot. Although, you could execute the file manually.

If you are using redhat, the scripts in rc.local will overwrite any coustom /etc/issue file you create. Therefore, to retain a custom /etc/issue file, remark out the lines that tell rc.local to write the info it gathers to /etc/issue.

thanks a lot danns, if you have a minute. i would like to ask two things:
- how can i manually execute that script?
- does this, i mean the rc.local overwritting the issue file, applies only to red hat?
thanks in advance.

You can manually execute the rc.local file by using either:

sh /etc/rc.d/rc.local
or
./etc/rc.d/rc.local

I don't recommend executing this file since any services started by this file will already be running, unless you specifically shut them down or killed them.

I would bet that there are other distros that have similar features, but maybe in different locations.

thanks for the promt answer, danns. i`ll follow your adviceand wait for the next shutdown then.

thanks a lot danns, i`ve executed the rc.local script, because it haven`t contained anything else besides my newly set instructions.
i find it a miracle to learn such a nice os, thanks a lot.
i`ve also added a cat into the `motd`, and i`m working on a script that cats the time onto the `issue` file, but i want that to be dinamically `catted`, if you know what i mean. i want it to print the actual time, not just the time that it was when i logged out.
anyways, thanks a lot.

[This message has been edited by hictio (edited 01-24-2001).]