On Thu, Sep 16, 2021 at 04:15:07PM +0000, Bollinger, John C wrote: > The value of XDG_CONFIG_DIRS, if set, is expected to be a string > designating one or more directories to search for config files, in > priority order. If multiple directories are specified then they are > separated by colon characters (:). This represents a search path, > similar to the executable search path conveyed via $PATH. > > HOWEVER, Base Directory does not specify a first match wins rule. It > attributes more importance (the spec's terminology) to files located > in earlier directories in the list, but that does not imply that only > one can be used.
Fair point, I was talking about "information" as opposed to files. Then the first match wins is exactly the same as your description. ;) But, /etc should be off limits for software in /usr/local, right? So XDG_CONFIG_DIRS has a hole in the spec, because one cannot set it up so that distro software _and_ software in /usr/local do the right thing, because whatever is set as "more important" wins for both. Or, as I said, maybe it should not be used like this to begin with? But then, what is its *intended* use? > At least a limited ability to merge multiple configs is suggested by > the provision for XDG_CONFIG_HOME, which designates a user-specific > search directory of even higher importance that, alone among all > these, is assumed to be writable by the user. This latter is where a > user would record their personal config customizations, and a > user-friendly application with many configuration options will not > insist that users provide a complete configuration just to customize a > few items. That is a very good point. The software in question currently does the latter, but I think this is out of scope for my initial question. I can live with a first match wins rule on file basis, for the time being. Best, PW
