Re: GNUstep and /usr/GNUstep...
On Sat, 21 Feb 1998, Christian Schwarz wrote:
> Note, that we had a similar discussion with the KDE packages before. KDE
> wanted to install into /opt. After the discussion, the KDE packages have
> been changed by the Debian maintainer (this was surely a lot of work) but
> I think it was worth it: IIRC, the KDE sources have been changed
> _upstream_ to allow installation into the `distributed' directories more
> easily. (Note, that I don't use KDE so this is just what I've been told--I
> hope that it's not completely wrong :)
I remember this discussion. The main difference is that KDE is not a
standard (not yet at least ;) while OPENSTEP has been normalized in 1994.
GNUstep inteding to be OPENSTEP compliant I guess we also have to cope
with the "bad features" of it...
> So why are all these `desktop environments' designed so that they _need_
> to have everything in a single directory hierarchy? This looks to me as
> they see themselves as `pure add-ons' to other operating systems/
GNUstep does not NEED to be in a single directory in order to work. It
will just make it look weird compared with the other implementations
(NeXTStep, Apple Rhapsody, Solaris, NT, ...)
Also OPENSTEP _is_ an operating system add-on, the same way X11R6 is.
> distributions. Frankly speaking, this looks a bit like the `C:\WINDOWS'
> approach: just add a new directory for your programs and you don't have to
> worry about cooperation with other programs.
>
> In the next step, we'll see GNUstep add-on packages which also need to
> install into C:\WINDOWS^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H/usr/GNUstep. Is this a nice
> solution??
X11 packages install themselves in /usr/X11R6/bin, /usr/X11R6/lib, ... Is
it nicer?
> Perhaps we can find a `temporary compromise' then: Since a) the packages
> would have to go into `contrib' first (unless the new dgs is released) and
> b) you said `you're not sure if they are really useful', why don't you
> just release them to contrib and install everything into /usr/GNUstep for
> a first release?
contrib, or even experimental since GNUstep has not yet reached the point
where it can really be used (still mostly developer only)
> With this solution, more people would be able to test your GNUstep
> packages and we'd know `if the packages are useful at all,' while you
> could try to work together with the upstream maintainers to make GNUstep
> installable into `FSSTND' directories (which would be necessary to allow
> the packages to go into the main distribution afterwards).
I already have this same problem with Scilab a while ago. It wanted to use
the /opt/Scilab directory. I just put it in /usr/lib/scilab and had to use
dozains of symlinks in /usr/bin, /usr/man, ... to make it FSSTND
compliant. Not using this technique would have meant scanning the whole
source code for hardwired path. This is just IMHO of course, but while the
FSSTND is good for most packages, for some of them the solution involved
is worse than the initial problem.
Cordialement,
--
- Vincent RENARDIAS vincent@{waw.com,pipo.com,debian.org} -
- Debian/GNU Linux: Pipo: WAW: -
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