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Re: bitmap and pixmap location



Edward Betts <edward@debian.org> writes:
> Branden Robinson <branden@ecn.purdue.edu> wrote:

> > I think we should standardize around /usr/include/X11/{bitmap,pixmap}.

> I thought that include was a place for storing C header files. Yes I
> have looked at an xpm before, but even so, it is still an odd place
> to store them.

Yes, and with all due respect to our X maintainer, but X is allowed to
do things for historical reasons that the rest of us should avoid
doing at all costs.  Bitmaps and pixmaps are *not necessarily* X
related -- it's quite possible that other graphical systems will use
them, e.g. svgalib games or maybe something like berlin.  Thus,
/usr/include/X11 is very much the wrong place for pixmaps and bitmaps.

Also, do we really want to keep pixmaps and bitmaps separate from
other graphics formats?  I would prefer not -- that's much too
confusing.  But /usr/include/X11/jpeg *really* makes no sense! :-)

Quite honestly, I believe (and I think the FHS backs me up on this)
that the X11/X11R6 directories should be reserved for X11 itself, and
that if your package is not part of X11 directly, it shouldn't use,
e.g. /usr/X11R6/bin.  (Of course, you couldn't prove that I believe
this from my packages, but that's a separate issue.:-)

The FHS saith: "This hierarchy is reserved for the X Window System,
version 11 release 6, and related files."  Now, what exactly
constitutes a "related" file is not spelled out.  Perhaps the binaries
that use X11 *do* qualify.  But as I pointed out, pixmaps and bitmaps
are not *necessarily* X-related, and therefore, IMO, should most
definitely NOT be in /usr/include/X11 (aka some random link to
/usr/X11R6/include).

By my reading, the proper place for graphics files of whatever format
is, indeed, /usr/share.
-- 
Chris Waters   xtifr@dsp.net | I have a truly elegant proof of the
      or    xtifr@debian.org | above, but it is too long to fit into
http://www.dsp.net/xtifr     | this .signature file.


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