Subject: Re: pkgsrc and tcsh
To: Bernd Sieker <bsieker@freenet.de>
From: Andrew Grillet <andrew@orlando.grillet.home>
List: port-sparc
Date: 05/28/2002 10:18:56
On Tuesday 28 May 2002 08:16, Bernd Sieker wrote:

> > > The problem isn't one program in /bin.  The problem is that once
> > > you let yourself install one program in one OS-managed directory,
> > > there's much less reason not to make it two, then three, and
> > > before you know it you can't tell what's what any more.  That's
> > > why I said "that way lies madness", not "that is madness".
> >
> > Well, that's self-discipline.  I have tcsh in /bin, and nothing
> > else.
> >
> > It's not uncommon for me to have /usr/pkg not mounted, and I need
> > the shell, so it's in /bin.  I can't think of another way to handle
> > that.
>
> One of the things
> that set NetBSD apart from all Linux distributions that I know is
> that you have a very sharp line between the core system, and user
> managed directories, even with hundreds of add-on-packages installed.
>
> I would like to always be able to depend on the fact that /bin,
> /sbin, /usr/bin, /usr/sbin, /usr/lib and some more contain _only_
> core system files.
>

So would I, In fact, I'd like tcsh to be considered for inclusion as 
part of the core system. Lets face it, as a user interface, it is far 
better than csh, and if your system has a problem, you probably want to 
use tcsh to fix it rather than csh. Be honest, command line editing and 
filename compeletion ARE good ideas, and "cos they had not been 
invented in 1978" is not a good reason for not using them. However, I 
also agree that its right not to pretend tchs is csh without the 
decison being taken by the sysadmin.

Andrew