Hi Randy, On Tue, May 17, 2011 at 08:52:44AM -0400, Randy Kramer wrote: > I agree that the XDG Base Specification has little if anything with > respect to addressing migration concerns.
> Well, except that I can envision a migration path--I don't see anything > that precludes a developer from starting to follow the XDG Base > Specification such that, sometime down the road, when enough > applications support it, it can be adopted. I mean, the first step > seems to be the developers specifying things using the symbolic > names /locations (like $XDG_DATA_HOME) instead of specific locations > (like /home/<username>). > I guess I would ask you, what does having this as a recommendation do to > you (or Debian) that makes you want to object to it? I'm guessing that > it may force you (or Debian) to do something (else, why would you > object)? The concern is not that Debian will be forced to do something; my concern is that, by having the FHS, which is a widely recognized standard, recommend the XDG spec, this will be used to persuade upstreams of various applications already in use to start to follow that spec without regard to the migration issues, resulting in a poor experience for users. In general, the *only* parts of the XDG base spec which I think it's reasonable for existing software to adopt are $XDG_CACHE_HOME and $XDG_RUNTIME_DIR, because these relate to disposable data and there's a distinct benefit to switching (namely, making it simpler to exclude these files from a backup policy). For the rest of the spec, a migration is more trouble than it's worth, and the FHS should take pains to avoid implying that such a migration is a good idea. -- Steve Langasek Give me a lever long enough and a Free OS Debian Developer to set it on, and I can move the world. Ubuntu Developer http://www.debian.org/ [email protected] [email protected]
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