On Wed, 2005-12-28 at 10:27, Guy Fraser wrote:
> It can be a contentious issue, exactly where to put
> non base system files. Sun Microsystems used to prefer
> /opt but almost everyone else uses /usr/local for most
> add on software. But it is well understood that :
/opt is for third-party things packaged with installers.
/usr/local is your own. With appropriate PATH settings
you can have the system, pre-packaged, and your own compiled
versions installed and execute the one of your choice.
> /bin, /sbin and /lib are for
> single user base system commands and their required libraries.
In case no one has mentioned it yet, these are the things
that may be needed before /usr is mounted, given that /usr
can be a separate partition.
> The real theological battle is what is considered part of
> the base system. Most Unix variants and Linux distributions
> consider only essential software to be part of the base.
And more to the point, where third-party RPMs fit into
the picture. In RedHat-land they are almost always made
to fit into the vendor-provided scheme, clobbering system
files if there is a conflict. Sometimes that's what you
want (say for an update to a stock program). Sometimes
it isn't. When it isn't, your system may not work any more.
That means you have to be very careful about installing any
packages that aren't part of the distribution.
--
Les Mikesell
lesmikesell@xxxxxxxxx
