Re: libexecdir - helper scripts
moseley@hank.org writes:
> The short version: Are these locations ok?
>
> /usr/lib/<package> -- helper scripts as part of a binary package
> /usr/lib/<package>/perl -- support modules for the helper scripts
Yes, but I think dumping things that aren't libraries in $prefix/lib
is using it like a rubbish bin--a place to dump everything that didn't
fit neatly anywhere else, which is what libexec was invented for.
> The default for libexec in autoconf is
>
> libexecdir='${exec_prefix}/libexec'
>
> where exec_prefix is normally prefix (/usr or /usr/local).
>
> Our developers discussed this and don't really like with that default for
> libexecdir, so if libexecdir is not specifically set with --libexecdir at
> configure time we set it to
>
> libexecdir='${exec_prefix}/lib/${PACKAGE}'
That's evil. The whole point of configure is to have install
locations standardised, and changing the defaults is never, ever, a
good idea.
> How does all this fit with Debian? The installed scripts are not really
> arch dependent (they are text after all), but they are modified at build
> time. So we debated /usr/share/<package> vs. /usr/lib/<package>.
libexecdir is fine, and I would recommend keeping it that way. It's
in common use on other OSes (especially BSDs) and other distributions
(RedHat, Mandrake). Personally, I'd like Debian (and the FHS) to
allow it as well. The reasons why it got left out of the FHS are so
political and petty it's not true--the decision was definitely /not/ a
technical one.
In debian/rules, just use ./configure --libexecdir=\$\{prefix\}/lib to
redefine it.
--
Roger Leigh
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