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Re: Intent To Split: netbase



On Wed, Aug 16, 2000 at 10:53:51AM -0400, Raul Miller wrote:
> On Wed, Aug 16, 2000 at 02:42:37AM -0500, Branden Robinson wrote:
> > I think if someone has to do such a thing, then:
> > 
> >   a) they forgot to su root; or
> >   b) they don't know they need privleges to use the command in question; or
> >   c) the command doesn't belong in sbin anyway.
> 
> While I agree with your thinking, I think you've left out a case:
> 
> d) they don't know about an alternative command which is already in
> their path.  [For example: netstat -er gives the same information 
> as route.]

I don't think it's feasible for a standards body or a package maintainer to
make case-by-decisions on the location of a tool based upon the
functionality of every other tool that might provide that functionality.
This would lead to an unstable environment, where the presence of route in
bin would justified if and only if nothing else could show you the routing
tables.  This would also differ on a system-by-system basis as users have
different packages installed.  Should route go into bin for users that
(somehow) don't have netstat installed, but sbin for users that do?  It
makes no sense.

In other words, I think the choice of directory should be controlled by
factors intrinsic, not extrinsic, to the program in question.

-- 
G. Branden Robinson             |      One man's "magic" is another man's
Debian GNU/Linux                |      engineering.  "Supernatural" is a
branden@debian.org              |      null word.
http://www.debian.org/~branden/ |      -- Robert Heinlein

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