[gentoo-dev] Re: [rfc] layman storage location (again)

[Duncan <1i5t5.duncan@cox.net>]

Mike Frysinger posted on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:45:49 -0500 as excerpted:

> On Friday 15 January 2010 20:24:38 Sebastian Pipping wrote:
>> On 01/16/10 00:33, Jorge Manuel B. S. Vicetto wrote:
>> > - From the alternatives, /var/lib/layman doesn't sound right. If
>> > /var/cache/layman doesn't work, what about /var/spool/layman instead?
>> 
>> Okay, how about
>> 
>>   /var/spool/layman
>> 
>> then?  Any objections?
> 
> /var/spool/ is a terrible idea -- these are not jobs being queued
> waiting to be processed by a daemon and then removed.
> 
> if you want to keep all of layman's stuff together, then about your only
> option is to create your own tree at like /var/layman/.  the better idea
> though would be to split your stuff along the proper lines.
> 
> cache files = /var/cache/layman/
> config files = /etc/layman/

This looks pretty good to me, too.

1) Don't mess with /usr/local/, that's reserved for local use.

(FWIW, it's only because I'm lazy and use single-letter "p" for my 
portage dirs, that you didn't clash with anything I do, here.  But I 
/was/ wondering what the layman dir was doing in my local files!)

2) /etc/ (/etc/layman/, or as I use, /etc/portage/layman, but some folks 
may not like that) for config, but do keep in mind that some folks keep
/ (and thus /etc) read-only during normal operation.  Thus, you can't 
properly put your runtime-updated files there.

(It could of course be argued that layman updates should be done with 
gentoo tree updates, thus, during package manager updates, which aren't 
really normal operation since Gentoo at least depends on / and /etc being 
writable for package updates, but then you lose the flexibility of being 
able to update layman on its own, during otherwise normal operation.)

3) /var/spool/ isn't right either, because as someone else mentioned, 
these aren't files spooled for use by some daemon and then deletion.

4) That leaves some place in /var/cache or /var/lib, or possibly /usr 
(taking a cue from Gentoo's default /usr/portage), for your
runtime-updated files.

I don't personally much care which of those are used, but /usr/ itself 
may be read-only mounted as well during normal operation (with 
/usr/portage/ either on a different mountpoint, or the local gentoo tree 
stored elsewhere), so I'd suggest, unless you wish to use 
/usr/portage/layman, you don't use /usr/ at all, which leaves /var/lib/ 
or /var/cache/.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman