Re: Can I use dpkg -i to install in /usr/local or /opt?

[Mike Markley <mike@markley.org>]

On Wed, Sep 27, 2000 at 05:50:39PM +0000, W. Borgert <debacle@knorke.in-berlin.de> spake forth:
> Note: I don't say, that any package should install anywhere
> else as before, nor do I say Debian or some vendor should
> place packages in non-standard places.  Instead I say, a
> sysadmin, or another user with sufficient privileges should
> be able to use the dpkg tool to place package files under
> /usr/local or /home/foobar.  Of course, admin can unpack
> a deb using ar and place anything under /usr/local, but
> shouldn't Debian help her with a great tool, dpkg?

And what about the case of, for example, a config file's path being
#define'd at compile time? Sure, I can, as a non-root user, extract the
contents of a .deb in any number of ways, manually run the pre/postinst
scripts, whatever; however, I still can't put a config file in /etc. This is
just one example.

This could be solved by making policy require some sort of -c
path/to/config/file option in everything, but that puts a ridiculous
additional work load on the maintainer. This is free software. You have the
source. Use it instead of suggesting that maintainers jump through flaming
hoops to satisfy a tiny portion of the users by making custom installations
marginally easier.

-- 
Mike Markley <mike@markley.org>
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