[ale] File System for Newbs

[James Sumners]

When installing packages via means other than your systems package
manager there are a few schools of thought. The one common idea,
though, is that you don't want to install into the system paths.

If I have root level access to a machine I prefer to install into
/opt/<package>. If I do not have root access, I install into
~/bin/<package> (should probably make that ~/opt/, but *shrug* it's my
home directory).

So let's say I'm building package `foo`. Provided it comes with
autoconf build scripts, I do:

$ ./configure --prefix=/opt/foo
$ make && make install

Then I should have `/opt/foo/bin/foo`. When I decide that I no longer
want the foo package installed I merely `rm -rf /opt/foo` and remove
any path variables I had set for it.

Another option is to install to /usr/local. In this case, some would
do `./configure --prefix=/usr/local` and others would do `--prefix
/usr/local/foo`. I don't usually install to /usr/local so I'll let
someone else make the argument for it.

On Tue, Jul 28, 2009 at 5:09 AM, Marc Ferguson<marcferguson at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Folks,
>
> I'd like some guidance in figuring out where do I install programs? I got
> some flack from a group in a #songbird IRC channel for putting the package
> in /usr/local/share/applications.  The nice one, pointed me to Red Hat docs
> and from there I found my way to pathname.com.  I think I've seen this site
> before, but it's a bit too long for my taste. I started to look through it
> and fell by the wayside.
>
> http://proton.pathname.com/fhs/pub/fhs-2.3.html
>
> After my reading, I'm confused. It looks like applications should be
> installed in the /opt folder.  I could be totally wrong, in my thinking, but
> I don't want to install apps in my /home directory.  Thanks.
>
> --
> Marc Ferguson
>
> www.fergytech.com
> www.digitalalias.net
>
> "When life gives me lemons... I make Linuxaide, hmm good stuff!"
>
>
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>



-- 
James Sumners
http://james.roomfullofmirrors.com/

"All governments suffer a recurring problem: Power attracts
pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it
is magnetic to the corruptible. Such people have a tendency to become
drunk on violence, a condition to which they are quickly addicted."

Missionaria Protectiva, Text QIV (decto)
CH:D 59