On Sun 29 Aug 2021 at 08:27:39 (-0500), Richard Owlett wrote:
> On 08/28/2021 02:33 PM, songbird wrote:
> > David Wright wrote:
> > > On Sat 28 Aug 2021 at 10:34:34 (-0500), Richard Owlett wrote:
> > > > During the partitioning phase of the install process, the user is
> > > > given the option of creating dedicated partitions. I chose to do it
> > > > for /home and swap {depending on machine I may also have a dedicated
> > > > project partition}.
> > > >
> > > > That the partition phase presents a menu of ~10 choices indicates the
> > > > Debian team considers this an significant feature.
> > > >
> > > > Where would I find a discussion of why the particular items rated
> > > > inclusion on the menu?
> > >
> > > Do you mean this?
> > >
> > > ┌────────────────┤ [!!] Partition disks ├────────────────┐
> > > │ │
> > > │ Mount point for this partition: │
> > > │ │
> > > │ / - the root file system │
> > > │ /boot - static files of the boot loader │
> > > │ /home - user home directories │
> > > │ /tmp - temporary files │
> > > │ /usr - static data │
> > > │ /var - variable data │
> > > │ /srv - data for services provided by this system │
> > > │ /opt - add-on application software packages │
> > > │ /usr/local - local hierarchy │
> > > │ Enter manually │
> > > │ Do not mount it │
> > > │ │
> > > │ <Go Back> │
> > > │ │
> > > └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
> > >
> > > What's to discuss? They're all there, those that are sensible.
> > > Which would you consider for exclusion from this list?
> > > Or are you suggesting they've missed one? What?
>
> My primary question was
> "Why were those particular directories mentioned?"
> Implied question
> "Should I be using a dedicated partition for any of them?"
Oh my, and just as I was feeling happy with myself for having taken your
https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2021/03/msg00221.html
to heart.
> I think songbird answered that.
Hmm. I think Joe has answered your Implied question. There's no
"should", and no one else can make the decision for you, as it
depends on how you intend using the system.
> > aren't these historically relevant possible choices for someone
> > doing an expert install?
I'm not sure why they're only /historically/ relevant …
> > to find out where they come from you would have to go back
> > into the early years of unix and then read forwards to see
> > if you can find where the newer one(s) were added (srv seems
> > to have been added after the web and web services came along).
… but I can see that you need to be a historian to understand the
evolution of unix, to track down where, for example, /opt originated.
That's without considering the origins (and naming) of /usr, /bin,
/sbin etc, where everyone has a slightly different story.
AIUI /srv originated with RedHat, was picked up by the FHS and hence
entered Debian, possibly around the time of sarge.
> My use-case may give me a viewpoint with similarities to early Unix
> adopters. I have a laptop dedicated to personal experiments installing
> Debian.
>
> Why? Because one design goal of the Debian team is to have a *default*
> install providing a "good" system to the maximum number of users. I
> find some choices made to be very annoying. My reaction is taking full
> advantage of another Debian design goal - to have a fully custom
> installation done "my way" ;}!
As the last two lines show (Enter manually // Do not mount it), the
team try not to get in your way. And you can of course partition your
disk(s) before you start, as you are presumably aware.
Cheers,
David.
