[fpc-pascal] Help getting Lazarus app in Ubuntu to elevate to root and back again

[Sven Barth]

On 08.10.2010 18:27, Andrew Brunner wrote:
> I'm needing help to take my Lazarus app, elevate process to root
> (using GUI prompt like GKSU) and I want to drop back down to the
> user's level after port binding and listening.
>
> Ubuntu has port restrictions for low port numbers.  I'm developing a
> platform that happens to use ports for HTTP, XMPP, etc.  Unfortunately
> I find myself running Lazarus as root and that is messing up my units
> as they are saved.
>
> I need Lazarus to run my app with debugger, and have the desktop
> system ask me for my password, attach that elevated id by way of that
> security mechanism to my debugged app, so I can execute my Bind and
> Listen socket calls, then detach/remove that elevated status to
> normal.
>
> Anyone with code to do this very thing?  I this to be cross-platform
> so ppl with KDE instead of Gnome need to be considered.
> Example Code:
> procedure DebugServices;
> begin
>     ElevateToRootStatus; //<<  Gets Ubuntu to prompt for Desktop system
> to elevate CurrentProcess
>     StartServices;
>     DropRootStatus;
> end;
>
> Under normal circumstances I could just launch gksu in front of my
> app.  But I'm under Lazarus with debugger so I need this badly.
>
> Developing ElevateToRootStatus and DropRootStatus is totally unknown
> how to do this.
>
> Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You might want to try PolicyKit.

Overview: http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/PolicyKit
Reference: http://hal.freedesktop.org/docs/PolicyKit/

I can't help you with it though, because I didn't have the need to do 
something like that yet.

Regards,
Sven