[ On Thursday, August 31, 2000 at 19:20:47 (+0200), Peter Eisentraut wrote: ]
> Subject: Re: HTML format documentation
>
> Richard Stallman writes:
>
> > If prefix is `/usr', use `/etc'.
> > Otherwise, use $(prefix)/config.
>
> I hope not. Hard-coded exceptions are the path to insanity. :)
>
> So prefix=/usr leads to syconfidir=/etc, but prefix=/usr/gnu (not my
> idea) leads to sysconfdir=/usr/gnu/config? Ugh.
>
> Or perhaps the "Linux" folks will start arguing that prefix=/usr should
> imply localstatedir=/var.
I'm definitely not a "Linux" person, but yes, that's implied too.....
> Or maybe prefix=/usr should imply prefix=/?
I'd like that, but there seem to be many proponents of keeping /usr --
most of whom and cite only arguments based on legacy and ingrained
finger training -- i.e. anti-change kinds of people! :-)
At the same time of course I'm actually not arguing for change for the
sake of change alone either.
The only problem with $(prefix) in this context is that it far too
pervasive. Indeed in this case one really does want $(prefix) and
$(usrprefix) or some such nonsense so that a single package can install
stuff in /etc, /sbin, /usr/bin, /usr/share/doc, /var, and so on....
Either that or one gives up on the sillyness of allowing the user to
choose the actual name of the prefix and instead simply encode the
expected defaults for various platforms into Autoconf (i.e. /usr,
/usr/pkg, /usr/local, or whatever) and allow the user only to specify
whether or not he/she wants to insall the package as part of the native
system (and thus perhaps over top of native system parts), or as part of
local add-on packages (which may duplicate some native system
functionality). Autoconf could allow the user to have some control in
the latter case of whether local stuff goes in /usr/pkg, /opt,
/usr/local, or whatever, but the per-system policies affecting placement
within one of these hierarchies, as well as policies that affect the
placement of such things as runtime config and runtime state files in
/etc and /var, for example, would be effectively hard-coded on a per
platform basis (perhaps with flexibility only allowed in the global
run-time configuration of Autoconf itself.
This nonsense of giving the user ultimate and complete control over
where each and every individual class of files, while at the same time
not learning and honouring platform specific policies for the defaults
(i.e. choosing defaults that might be suitable only for one class of
systems), is big nasty can of worms, each of which has spiky spines and
very sharp and fast-moving teeth!
> The nice thing about the GNU file system is that it has no exceptions.
Huh? I though the GNU OS filesystem layout was indeed leaning towards
having what would result today from using `--prefix=/' to install both
the system itself as well as any add-on packages -- i.e. no /usr.
Indeed in that case there are no "exceptions", but in that case there's
no need for autoconf either! ;-)
--
Greg A. Woods
+1 416 218-0098 VE3TCP <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <robohack!woods>
Planix, Inc. <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Secrets of the Weird <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
