BFS allows creation of indices on no-index partitions

[anevilyak]

If a partition has been created using the noindex parameter, one would normally expect such a partition to also disallow creation of any subsequent indices. This currently isn't the case, and one can thus wind up with a partition that lacks the usual built-in indices such as name, last_modified, etc. but has e.g. be:deskbar_item_status and mail indices. This should probably be forbidden by the FS on such a volume, perhaps also providing a tool which allows one to later switch the partition between modes if one changes one's mind. By implication, switching from non to indexed would then create all the built-in indices that one cannot create manually.

[axeld]

Not sure this qualifies as a bug; at least it's an intentional feature :-)

You should be able to recreate the indices whenever you want; an unused index doesn't really cost anything (but an empty directory). However, I agree that it would be nice to have a flag that actually prevents index creation.

[anevilyak]

In that case, one would also want some tool or a flag on mkindex to recreate the special indices though.

[axeld]

Yes, that would be nice to have. I'm not sure if the reindex tool can be of any help with those -- probably not. I'm changing this to 'enhancement', as the current behavior is intentional, even if debatable.

[anevilyak]

Looking at reindex's current code, it would AFAICT not. All it does is read, remove, and write back all attributes on each file, which if memory serves, wouldn't alter the last modification time, so it would also need to be adjusted to be able to accommodate the mtime if/when we wind up supporting this.