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Re: libexecdir=/usr/sbin ?


On Sat, 2 Jul 2005, James R. Phillips wrote:

> All,
>
> The packaging instructions at
> http://cygwin.com/setup.html#package_contents indicate
>
> [quote]
> The package is configured using (at a minimum) the following paths:
> [..snip..]
>   --libexecdir=/usr/sbin
> [..snip..]
> [/quote]
>
> OK, this seems wrong to me.  GNU autoconf defines libexecdir as a
> directory for binaries that are called by programs, and not by users.
> It defaults to /usr/sbin, but that is a violation of fhs.  Per fhs,
> /usr/sbin is for nonessential administrative utilities, i.e. it is not
> for normal users.

I believe you're right.  Cygwin already uses /usr/sbin for things that
normally go into /sbin on Linux (e.g., the service daemons).

> The current fhs indicates /usr/lib is the right place for libexecdir:
>
> [quote]
> 4.7.1. Purpose
>
> /usr/lib includes object files, libraries, and internal binaries that
> are not intended to be executed directly by users or shell scripts.
>
> Applications may use a single subdirectory under /usr/lib. If an
> application uses a subdirectory, all architecture-dependent data
> exclusively used by the application must be placed within that
> subdirectory.
> [/quote]
>
> Search of the cygwin-apps archives reveals no discussion of this issue,
> but does show some packagers are using libexecdir=/usr/lib instead of
> /usr/sbin.
>
> So three questions:
>
> (1) Wouldn't /usr/lib be preferred ?

I'm not sure how the configure options relate to the actual install
directory, but program-specific supplemental executables should go into
/usr/lib/<progname>, not just /usr/lib (i.e., the second option in your
quote).

> (2) If it is preferred, why don't we update our docs?

Whether it is preferred is for CGF and Corinna to decide.  The answer to
your question, however, is <http://cygwin.com/acronyms/#SHTDI>.  You could
submit a patch -- the web pages are in CVS (in the /cvs/cygwin directory).

> (3) If it isn't preferred, is it acceptable?  It seems some are using it.

Definitely acceptable.
	Igor
-- 
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     |,4-  ) )-,_. ,\ (  `'-'		Igor Pechtchanski, Ph.D.
    '---''(_/--'  `-'\_) fL	a.k.a JaguaR-R-R-r-r-r-.-.-.  Meow!

"The Sun will pass between the Earth and the Moon tonight for a total
Lunar eclipse..." -- WCBS Radio Newsbrief, Oct 27 2004, 12:01 pm EDT


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