I received this comment, and i think it's too interresting to keep it in
private mail. Hope you don't mind if i forward this to the public. :> - HF

--- Forwarded mail from leonard@dstc.edu.au

From: David Leonard <leonard@dstc.edu.au>
Subject: Re: Packages (Re: xntpd)
To: Hubert.Feyrer@rz.uni-regensburg.de (Hubert Feyrer)
Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 09:50:53 +1000 (EST)
Reply-To: leonard@dstc.edu.au


What about the question of architecture dependent binaries? for people
who like to nfs serve their binaries across their multiple netbsd platforms :)

Perhaps a package install thing that puts (builds) the actual binaries
(like `mdir') somewhere like:

	/usr/local/mtools-2.07/archbin/mac68k/mdir
	/usr/local/bin/mdir -> ../../mtools-2.07/archbin/mac68k/mdir

or should that be the other way round:

	/usr/local/archbin/mac68k/mtools-2.07/mdir
	/usr/local/bin/mdir -> ../../mtools-2.07/bin/mdir
	/usr/local/mtools-2.07 -> archbin/mac68k/mtools-2.07

or:
	/usr/local/archbin -> arch/mac68k/NetBSD/1.0A/

...welcome to symlink city for multiple architectures, and multiple packages
and multiple everything :) (reminds me of dec unix)


while i'm here i may as well say that i'd prefer package dirs to be put
somewhere other than in the top of /usr/local/ - i like the sound of
/usr/local/package/.


OR scrap all that and go back to using PATH

how about having /etc/profile source /usr/local/package/.setup or something
that gets modified each time a package is added/removed so that PATH and
MANPATH get updated correctly at login? that would save on a billion symlinks
(and inodes).. however users i know like to set their PATH from scratch
and rarely rely on the one passed from login & /etc/profile... but those
people would have a quick look at /etc/profile, then in /usr/local/package
and then be able to set it up themselves.


also in addition to having /usr/local/package/mtools-2.07, i'd like maybe
to see a symlink like
	/usr/local/package/mtools -> mtools-2.07
but i dont know what the pros and cons of that are... makes bug tracking
easier i think and would avoid changing too many symlinks like
	/usr/local/bin/mdir -> ../../mtools/mdir


well enough of my ranting... this is getting way too confusing

> ...
> > I myself use /usr/local/<pkg>-<vers>, e.g.:
> > >
> > > /usr/local/mtools-2.0.7
> > > /usr/local/X11R6
> > > /usr/local/netpbm-1mar94
> > > /usr/local/top-3.3beta
> > > etc.
...
> But serious folks: i remember the precious discussion (to be honest:
flame-war
> fits better!) about packages on the amiga-list. Right now we seem to be at a
> point at where we've settled on the concept of packages being in
> /usr/local/<somediryettoname>/<pkg> and binaries, man-pages etc. available
> through symlinks to /usr/local/bin, .../man, etc. If someone has reasonable
> arguments against it, please speak up *now*, tell us and possibly tell us a
> other (better) solution!

d
--
David Leonard                            Project Officer, DSTC
The University of Queensland             leonard@dstc.edu.au
http://www.dstc.edu.au/WP/staff/david-leonard.html


---End of forwarded mail from leonard@dstc.edu.au

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