Subject: Re: Ported software
To: None <current-users@netbsd.org>
From: der Mouse <mouse@Collatz.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>
List: current-users
Date: 09/13/1994 18:28:57
> 3) Everything should install in /usr/local.  I could be convinced
>    that some other hierarchy is appropriate, but there should not be
>    more than one hierarchy for the ported software as a whole.

I'm not sure what you mean by the part after the last comma - do you
mean that (a) the package should demand to live under a single root
point, (b) that it should be capable of living under a single root
point, or (c) b plus when so configured, changing that point involves
changing just one thing?

In my opinion, (a) is a bit obnoxious but tolerable with symlinks if
necessary (eg, binaries on a RO filesystem and save files on a RW
filesystem), (b) borders on necessary, and (c) is nice but not
essential as long as all the things that need to be changed are close
together (eg, adjacent lines in some file).  It's nice to have

	#define TOPDIR "/usr/local/foopkg/"
	
	#define BINDIR TOPDIR "bin/"
	#define MANDIR TOPDIR "man/"
	#define LIBDIR TOPDIR "lib/"

but it's not essential; I can live just fine with

	#define BINDIR "/usr/local/foopkg/bin/"
	#define MANDIR "/usr/local/foopkg/man/"
	#define LIBDIR "/usr/local/foopkg/lib/"

What I would have trouble putting up with is having those strings
scattered throughout multiple files, or not present in a single
easily-modifiable form.

(As for /usr/local as the place of choice, well, personally, /usr/local
is as useless as /usr/bin; if it can't go in a directory of my choice
under /local, it generally doesn't go anywhere but /dev/null.)

					der Mouse

			    mouse@collatz.mcrcim.mcgill.edu