Re: Language module support modified

Quoting Adriaan de Groot <adridg-FlD2LfDziEhmR6Xm/[email protected]>:
> On Tue, 30 Sep 2003, Bram Moolenaar wrote:
> > > Like someone else already pointed out, /usr/local is rather
> > > unportable. I presume you mean "the OS-specific place for "extra
> > > software"".
> >
> > And how would Aap find out where that is?
> >
> > I could add a variable in default.aap, but I found one place where the
> > /usr/local/... directory is used without reading it: filetype detection.
> > Perhaps this is something that must be done when installing Aap?

> 	if os == "posix":
> 		if test -d "/opt":
> 			os_local_dir="/opt"
> 		else:
> 			os_local_dir="/usr/local"
> 	else:
> 		os_local_dir="C:/WINDOWS/SYSTEM"
> 
> That's a start, isn't it?

This is a start, although it's administrator specific if he
prefers /opt i.s.o. /usr/local. So we can choose a default, 
but it should be possible for the user to override this choice,
e.g. with an environment variable.

Below is a long explanation from the (Linux) Filesystem Hierarchy Standard
about the use of /usr/local & /opt.

The /usr/local hierarchy is for use by the system administrator when 
installing software locally. It needs to be safe from being overwritten when 
the system software is updated. It may be used for programs and data that are 
shareable amongst a group of hosts, but not found in /usr. 

Locally installed software must be placed within /usr/local rather than /usr 
unless it is being installed to replace or upgrade software in /usr.

/+opt is reserved for the installation of add-on application software packages. 

A package to be installed in /opt must locate its static files in a separate 
/opt/<package> directory tree, where <package> is a name that describes the 
software package. 

Requirements

The directories /opt/bin, /opt/doc, /opt/include, /opt/info, /opt/lib, and 
/opt/man are reserved for local system administrator use. Packages may provide 
"front-end" files intended to be placed in (by linking or copying) these 
reserved directories by the local system administrator, but must function 
normally in the absence of these reserved directories. 

Programs to be invoked by users must be located in the directory 
/opt/<package>/bin. If the package includes UNIX manual pages, they must be 
located in /opt/<package>/man and the same substructure as /usr/share/man must 
be used. 

Package files that are variable (change in normal operation) must be installed 
in /var/opt. See the section on /var/opt for more information. 

Host-specific configuration files must be installed in /etc/opt. See the section 
on /etc for more information. 

No other package files may exist outside the /opt, /var/opt, and /etc/opt 
hierarchies except for those package files that must reside in specific 
locations within the filesystem tree in order to function properly. For example, 
device lock files must be placed in /var/lock and devices must be located in 
/dev. 

Distributions may install software in /opt, but must not modify or delete 
software installed by the local system administrator without the assent of the 
local system administrator. 

BEGIN RATIONALE

The use of /opt for add-on software is a well-established practice in the UNIX 
community. The System V Application Binary Interface [AT&T 1990], based on the 
System V Interface Definition (Third Edition), provides for an /opt structure 
very similar to the one defined here. 

The Intel Binary Compatibility Standard v. 2 (iBCS2) also provides a similar 
structure for /opt. 

Generally, all data required to support a package on a system must be present 
within /opt/<package>, including files intended to be copied into 
/etc/opt/<package> and /var/opt/<package> as well as reserved directories in 
/opt. 

The minor restrictions on distributions using /opt are necessary because 
conflicts are possible between distribution-installed and locally-installed 
software, especially in the case of fixed pathnames found in some binary 
software. 

END RATIONALE

Kind regards,

Aschwin Marsman

--
http://www.marsman.org              [email protected]


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