Ralf Corsepius wrote:
On Tue, 2007-11-06 at 11:00 +0900, John Summerfield wrote:
Ralf Corsepius wrote:
On Tue, 2007-11-06 at 08:00 +0900, John Summerfield wrote:
Ralf Corsepius wrote:
On Mon, 2007-11-05 at 19:03 +0900, John Summerfield wrote:
The standard way in this case is to follow the supplier's advice:FSF in
this case. It should install to /usr/local, well out of your way and
defined by standards to be used this way.
If you do this, you are replacing the "system compiler" with a local one
(/usr/local is special to gcc!). You will rarely want to do this under
linux.
It's true that installing binaries to /usr/local/bin makes it the
default compiler, but you do get to choose with your PATH settings.
Much less error prone is to install to a
prefix != /usr and prefix != /usr/local.
The LSB recommended way would be to install to /opt or a subdirectory
thereof (e.g. --prefix=/opt/gcc42).
BTW: FHS would have been correct (my fault).
/opt commonly seems to be populated with rpms.
I'd keep out of it:
/opt is reserved for vendors. That's exactly what you act as when
installing additional packages in parallel to the one the OS vendor
installs.
Bruce, the OP, was talking about doing this for his own use on his own
system. He's functioning as an administrator and not as a vendor.
Nit-picking. The difference is moot. It doesn't matter who builds a
piece of SW, whether he exercises "configure && make && make install" or
installs a pre-built tar-ball or rpm. The result to his system is the
same: A package is being installed.
The difference is who manages it, and the scope of the problem, if any.
I prefer --prefix=/usr/local/gcc42 over /opt anything.
Read the FHS. /usr/local/<package> violates the FHS.
We're talking about Bruce on his own computer. He owns /usr/local and
can do what he wants with it. Vendors don't get a vote.
Yes, everybody has the right to shoot himself into his own foot.
Think of installing GCC on a "commercial *nix" (e.g. Solaris, AIX etc.).
GCC is designed in a way such it installs to /usr/local/[bin|lib|...]
that is doesn't collide with the OS-vendor's installation in
/usr/[bin|lib|...].
He's not, and Linux does not follow commercial unix practice, and the
FHS differs significantly from standard unix practice.
FHS is a guideline trying provide a "standard unix practice". The fact
that almost any admin implements his own "private conventions" is a
different problem.
FHS is at http://www.pathname.com/fhs/pub/fhs-2.3.html
FHS is, apparently, edited by three people:
Edited by
Rusty Russell
Daniel Quinlan
Christopher Yeoh
Copyright © 1994-2004 Daniel Quinlan
Copyright © 2001-2004 Paul 'Rusty' Russell
Copyright © 2003-2004 Christopher Yeoh
The three are all famous in the Linux community, just ask Google if you
doubt me.
There are quite a few contributors listed at the foot; I recognise
several of them as being famous Linux people (and one is also famous in
OS/2) circles. None has any obvious connexion to and of the free BSDs or
to a commerical Unix vendor (except IBM, but those I know are at IBM
work on Linux, not AIX).
I would not expect Unix folk, with over 30 years' customary practice
behind them are going to change their ways just because the Linux people
say they should, do you?
The vendor
(Fedora in this case) is forbidden the use of /usr/local
Right.
(and
/var/local) beyond the basic layout whereas vendors often use /opt.
Right, because vendors want to install in parallel to the OS, and not to
override the OS (such as GCC).
gcc is never part of the OS.
..., but this discussion is as old as the FHS exists. We won't solve it,
either. All I can say: Don't install gcc to /usr/local/(bin|lib|...)
unless you want to override the OS's setting. The devil is in the
details.
For Bruce on his own machine, those are the standard places. Where else?
Certainly not /opt.
I disagree. /opt/ is a perfect location for parallel
installation. /usr/local is an appropriate location to override the
system without distroying the OS-vendor's installation.
Installing gcc under /usr/local has no implications for the ordinary use
of the system, software developers aside.
Here is a quote from the FHS:
/usr/local : Local hierarchy
Purpose
The /usr/local hierarchy is for use by the system administrator when
installing software locally. It needs to be safe from being overwritten
when the system software is updated. It may be used for programs and
data that are shareable amongst a group of hosts, but not found in /usr.
Locally installed software must be placed within /usr/local rather than
/usr unless it is being installed to replace or upgrade software in /usr.
Since this is not packaged software, and Bruce explicitly said he wants
to use the official version and to be able to remove the new, this
suggests to me that /usr/local is the official place.
Here is another quote:
/opt : Add-on application software packages
Purpose
/opt is reserved for the installation of add-on application software
packages.
A package to be installed in /opt must locate its static files in a
separate /opt/<package> or /opt/<provider> directory tree, where
<package> is a name that describes the software package and <provider>
is the provider's LANANA registered name.
Requirements
Directory
Description
<package> Static package objects
<provider> LANANA registered provider name
The directories /opt/bin, /opt/doc, /opt/include, /opt/info, /opt/lib,
and /opt/man are reserved for local system administrator use. Packages
may provide "front-end" files intended to be placed in (by linking or
copying) these reserved directories by the local system administrator,
but must function normally in the absence of these reserved directories.
There seems to be some disagreement amongst Linux vendors as to what
"add-on" means - some have used /opt for KDE & Gnome.
However, it does say "packaged software" and Bruce isn't packaging
software, he's building & installing unpackaged software for a machine
he administers.
--
Cheers
John
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