Re: PROPOSAL for FHS revised : Mount points for CDs, floppies and a lien OS partitions.]

[Dale Scheetz <dwarf@polaris.net>]

On 29 Jun 2000, Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote:

> Dale Scheetz <dwarf@polaris.net> writes:
> 
> > On 28 Jun 2000, Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote:
> > 
> > > 
> > > /misc has the disadvantage of having nothing to do with what any
> > > existing system uses.
> > > 
> > > All of the ones I know either directly mount on subdirs of /, or mount
> > > on subdirs of /mnt.
> > > 
> > Debian uses /floppy and /cdrom, so /mnt is left alone. I have used it for
> > several years, placing subdirectories within /mnt on which I mount the
> > other partitions I add to root. These are permanent mounts set up in
> > fstab, and I have never had any other software try to remount them, or
> > overmount something on /mnt.
> 
> Yes.  This contradict what I said.  Debian uses subdirectories of /.
> Red Hat and Solaris and Irix use subdirectories of /mnt.  I have no
> particular preference, and I think specifying it at all in fsstnd is a
> horrible idea.
> 
If you mean by this, that FHS should not specify /mnt, /cdrom, or /floppy
as temporary mountpoints by "third party software", then I agree. These
should be left to their current uses by distros and sysadmins.

> But if it's going to be specified, don't make up something new.  The
> job of fsstnd is not to order around developers and decide for them
> what they ought to do, or engage in OS design.

And I was suggesting none of that. Existing practice in Debian (and
something similar is done in all other "installers" I have seen) is to use
/var/lib/dpkg/methods/mnt as the temporary mount point for a CD
installation. The CD is only mounted when needed by dselect, which allows
newer multi-CD installation methods to swap CDs during installation.

I was suggesting that something like: 

/var/lib/<package/vendor name>/<some mount point>/

would make a suitable temporary mount point for third party software, as
it seems to be used now as the method for distros to do volatile mounts.

Is there some reason you have yet to voice that makes this a bad answer
to the question?

Thanks,

Dwarf