From: hlu@eecs.wsu.edu (H.J. Lu) Subject: Re: No /usr/local please (Re: Help: Need TeX/LaTeX linked with jump table 4.1) Date: 21 Sep 1992 02:57:02 GMT
In article <BuwprL.7I2@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu>, Upholder@uiuc.edu (THE Upholder of Truth) writes:
|> tdunbar@vttcf.cc.vt.edu (Thomas Dunbar) writes:
|>
|> > i certainly agree with HJ and Rik: standard LINUX stuff like TeX (and Emacs,
|> >XFree86, etc) dont belong in a local dir.
|> > where programs expect TeX stuff is NOT a problem (not with dvips, dvixx, or
|> >xdvi anyway) besides one can always use environmentals or symbolic links.
|> > the important poinbt, perhaps philosophical, is that the standard stuff
|> >for the os doesnt belong in /usr/local.
|>
|> I see absolutely *NO* reason to move packages from where the author has
|> decided to place them. This only increases setup and porting problems.
|>
|>
|> Further, System utilities such as the fileutils, shellutils, etc should go
|> in /bin or /usr/bin as needed (in bin if you need them to recover a crahsed
|> partition, and in /usr/bin if they aren't needed to recover a crashed
|> partition).
|>
|> Software 'packages' such as TeX should *NOT* (IMHO) be mixed with the
|> 'system utilities' because they *AREN'T* system standard - not every system
|> will have them.
|>
|> A 'standard' linux system should have the same utils in /bin and /usr/bin.
|>
|> Anything that is not a 'system utility' should go elsewhere (/usr/local/bin
|> being the standard on *EVERY* system I have an account on, including my
|> home linux box).
|>
|> Even X11R5 is installed under /usr/local on the local student mainframes.
|>
|> I guess my point is, why change what is standard when the standard isn't
|> broke?
|>
|> --
|> The Upholder of Truth I am not only ready to
|> Upholder@uiuc.edu (ASCII mail) retract this, but also
|> jar42733@sumter.cso.uiuc.edu (NeXT mail) deny I said anything. =)
|> anonymus+211@godiva.nectar.cs.cmu.edu (anon) THIS IS _NOT_ CCSO'S OPINION!!
What is the definition of 'system utility'? For my system, TeX, groff and
X11R5, ... are system utilities to me. I put my own binaries in ~/bin. Some
local stuffs in /usr/local. As for other systems, I didn't see any Unices
put their corresponding stuffs of TeX, groff and X in /usr/local. Linux
just uses their suprior replacements which happen to be in places other
than /usr/bin or /bin under those Unices.
I know /usr/bin and /bin are crowded. We may need another place to put
those utilities. How about /usr/pkg or /pkg? I don't think /usr/local makes
sense to Linux. We should put those replacements where they belong.
H.J.