smb.conf include facility

[John H Terpstra]

Folks,

The include facility in smb.conf no longer functions as it did in Samba 2.x 
series. I am acting on this because a samba site is having difficulty with 
the use of the include facility and contacted me for clarification.

The files shown in "Samba-3 by Example" Examples 4.3.1 - 4.3.3 (excluding 
Samba-3 specific parameters) produces a clean smb.conf file, as shown by 
executing the Samba 2.2.x versions testparm.

When this is done with Samba-3 release versions the trailing empty "include = 
" remains in the output from testparm.

Additionally, Samba-3 squashes all macros that may be put into the include 
parameter when testparm is used to generate a clean smb.conf file. i.e., 

	include = /etc/smb.conf.%L

gets squashed to:

	include = /etc/smb.conf.

Additionally, there is a wierd side-effect that causes spurius "include = " 
entries to appear in share stanzas also. 

----------------------- Questions / Feedback Request --------------------

I would appreciate some guidance in respect of the documentation and therefore 
seek feedback in respect of:

1. Should the include feature be removed?

2. If we should retain the include feature, can we regain the Samba 2.x 
functionality? Is so, should we?

3. Do we have any consensus on how I should update to documentation of this 
feature?

4. Which of the proposals below appeals to you most?

Proposal A:
-------------
We remove the include feature and I will immediately update the documentation 
to say it is gone from 3.0.20.

Proposal B:
-------------
We restore Samba 2.x functionality and I leave the documentation as is. The 
documentation assumes Samba 2.x behavior.

Proposal C:
-------------
The documentation will be immediately updated so that all examples show only 
complete working smb.conf files and do not mention use of the include 
feature.


I can deal with the execution of proposal A or C. If proposal B is chosen, who 
will deal with restoring the old behavior.

- John T.