On Wed, Jun 07, 2006 at 10:45:28AM +0200, Adam Borowski wrote: > This argument is valid only for configuration. There are more > reasons to have files which are not displayed unless you ask for > them. For example: > * .svn > Storing this metadata somewhere else would mean you have to > explicitely purge it every time you do something as basic as > deleting a dir. Also, you are no longer free to move things around > by hand, can't move them to another machine without some kind of > export/import, and so on, so on. > * .xvpics > It takes a long time to show the thumbnails, so caching them is not > a bad idea. However, if this cache was placed anywhere else than > the dir which contains the images, thumbnails would accumulate > indefinitely -- with .xvpics, deleting the directory removes the > relevant cache without any extra effort.
These two are examples of files that can occur everywhere, rather than in $HOME. While caching purposes and/or metadata are certainly valid reasons to hide files away, I don't think that storing configuration is just as valid. Moreover, your problem about removing cache with a directory can be easily worked around by using some cache expiry algorithm. -- Fun will now commence -- Seven Of Nine, "Ashes to Ashes", stardate 53679.4 -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
