On 16/12/2020 14:55, Rich Freeman wrote:
Now, where exactly in /var it goes is more a matter of debate. /var/db is not specified in FHS, but it is used by FreeBSD which I think was one of the selling points. Personally I stick it in /var/cache as (IMO) it just contains a local copy of a repository that is entirely stored elsewhere. Some would certainly disagree with that. I think /var/lib would be an alternative place that keeps more to FHS.
This is very interesting, thanks for sharing! I was wondering what the rationale was behind /var/db but it comes as no surprise that it may have something to do with FreeBSD and Gentoo's overall ties/inspiration from FreeBSD. Personally, I too agree that /var/cache might be a better approach and is commonly used by other distros to store their repos' cache (e.g. Debian and derivatives).
Whether it's ultimately the "right" place, I don't know but to me it seems one of Linux' larger issues is the general lack of consistency between distros. This is a whole other debate of course. And while often inconsistencies may stem from otherwise perfectly sound decisions, I think such aspects - in their cumulative form - contribute to the hindering of wider adoption of Linux outside the tech community.
However, moving it out of /usr was a move with near-universal support. And you can really put it anywhere you want by editing one line in your portage config. I don't think the directory even exists in the base install - it gets created the first time you sync so it is entirely user-configurable.
I completely agree with this, I was extremely happy when I read the news a while back as it makes far more sense. In fact, prior to the move I had been wondering with friends why the repo cache was under /usr.
OpenPGP_signature
Description: OpenPGP digital signature
