Jeremy White wrote:
./install-some-software.sh --prefix=/mnt/shared
(or PREFIX=/mnt/shared ./install-some-software.sh, if you prefer).
Um, you've just added '--prefix' to the mix; that does
not exist in any specification. You're saying that all application
installers must respect an environment variable of PREFIX
or a flag of --prefix?
No. Were you suggesting that all installers must be able to install to
different prefixes according to XDG_DATA_DIRS?
I only suggest here, that installers that support relocation should do
so with a 'prefix' mechanism rather than XDG_DATA_DIRS.
Installers that don't support relocation will have chosen a location to
install to, which means they implicitly chosen a hard-coded prefix.
What I meant to suggest, is that installers should generally install
desktop integration files into places in their prefix. And then we
probably need a simple way to make this take effect in the desktop
globally. But that last part should be a separate (and optional) step.
This seems to match the admin desire to install into a sharable,
mountable, optional location. It's bad if you have global desktop files
point to an optional location that isn't there today. And it is just as
bad, if you can't have menu integration for an application installed
into a mounted directory, because that installation happened on another
machine. Thus installing the bits and integrating into the local system
must be separable activities.
One more note: installers that have no notion of a prefix at all are
probably just the moral equivalent plain tarballs and can't install
out-of-prefix anyhow.
I'm not opposed to the addition of a XDG_WRITE_DATA_DIRS specification
addition to the basedir-spec. In fact, I would assert that Waldo
is essentially saying that XDG_WRITE_DATA_DIRS exists and is
always hard coded to /usr/share:/usr/local/share.
I still feel that having XDG_DATA_DIRS be both read and write can
be a reasonable spec, but I can see rational arguments against.
I'm not so sure that is a good idea. I think putting files into the
application prefix and then registering that location through a file in
/etc (or through invocation of a system utility) in much better suited
to provide flexibility and manageability (and conform to the letter and
spirit of the FHS).
- Joerg
--
Joerg Barfurth Sun Microsystems - Desktop - Hamburg
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> using std::disclaimer <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Software Engineer [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Thin Client Software
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