"Eric Iverson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
> Again, I wonder why people install J in "program files". How do the
> advantages weigh against the disadvantages?
Eric,
Perhaps the easy answer is "ignorance": I don't know where else to put
things. I was "brought up" on HP-UX (well, if you don't count PAM-D,
MPE3000, GS-OS, and a few others) and I got used to executables being in
a somewhat limited set of places.
When I first got a PC, I ended up with executables scattered all over
the place, many of them in c: and others hiding down some directory
tree. After a while (esp. with .ini files and the like cluttering up c:
and with having to remember or look up where I had stuffed various
obscure programs), I decided a bit of organization was in order. I
noticed that Windows executables tended to get put in Program Files, and
so I followed suit.
Up until now, that hasn't created any visible problems for me except for
the @($*& space in the name. That's why I have a select few programs
(Emacs and cygwin come to mind) still in c: and everything else (I
think) in Program Files.
<*>
That brings up a related problem: is there a summary of good practices
for managing associated J files? I like that you've moved ~user out of
the J directory for several reasons, but I do have to modify my backup
scripts to find j602-user (I was backing up My Documents plus a few
other specific files, and this is now another one to grab).
My problem is that I now have directories in Program Files for j406,
j503a, j504, j601, and j602. "One of these days" I promise myself I'll
go through and move older scripts to the latest version, fixing any
problems along the way, but that one day never seems to get here in
general. Thus I don't delete an older released J engine just in case I
need it, and I don't blindly move the contents of the user directory
from one version to the next without good testing on my part. As you
can guess, these are mostly programs I use on somewhat rare occasion,
not production programs I would have fixed at the upgrade.
If J didn't evolve, I'd suggest just having a j-user directory, not
j602-user, but I realize that various changes over the versions have
made such an approach risky. I've in effect done that on some programs,
as I've stored certain J scripts with the project I've been working on
at the time instead of in ~user, and I probably haven't always
documented the J version such scripts were last known to run on.
Suggestions as to what others do?
Thanks,
Bill
--
Bill Harris http://facilitatedsystems.com/weblog/
Facilitated Systems Everett, WA 98208 USA
http://facilitatedsystems.com/ phone: +1 425 337-5541
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