Re: Location for user installed plugin libraries and icons

[jonsgough]

The user install plugins can vary between very simple with a config file 
and a couple of icons up to complex with large data >1GB  and hundreds 
of icons. So leaving them lying around on smaller, resource constrained 
systems when the main application is removed does not seem very user 
friendly.

If debs must not touch files in $HOME but is allowed to create files 
there (is that not a contradiction?) where else could the 'user' files 
be placed?

Is there a process that allows the deb to 'clean up' the application 
when the application is uninstalled, in particular any 'install' 
artifacts that have been installed by plugins? Debs will identify 
dependencies (other debs) that are no longer required when they are 
uninstalled and the system package manger will allow automatic uninstall 
of unused items if the user wants. Debs will also allow complete delete 
of all data that was installed.

In the main it is expected that the systems will be 'single user' or 
'single user account', so it is unlikely that there will be multiple 
plugin installs for different users. The idea of the plugin manager is 
to remove the need to have elevated privileges to install plugins so it 
makes the user experience better. The use of .local and .config is not 
the problem it is the clean up at uninstall that is. My experience of 
most users is that they have no understanding of the file system beyond 
'Documents', 'Downloads' and 'Desktop', so I am trying to work within 
that constraint. I know users who buy new phones/tablets/PC's because 
they become 'slow' due to obsolete stuff lying around which they were 
not aware of, so I am trying to avoid exacerbating this issue.

The intention is not to delete config files or user data unless 
explicitly requested to do so. It is just to remove the 'packaged' files 
or files that are non-user modifiable which can easily and automatically 
re-downloaded if needed.


Jon