lynx-dev configure option --libdir not GCS conform

[Olaf Lenz]

Hello!

When building Lynx 2.8.1 for our multiplatform-environment, I found
one problem with the install-path for the lynx.cfg-file.

As the Lynx Installation Guide states, the option "--libdir" of the
configure script is used to determine the location for the
installation of the lynx.cfg file. Following the Gnu Coding Standards,
this seems to be quite the wrong place for the file, as it is used for
system dependent object code:

`libdir' 
      The directory for object files and libraries of object code. Do not 
install executables
      here, they probably ought to go in `$(libexecdir)' instead. The value of 
libdir
      should normally be `/usr/local/lib', but write it as 
`$(exec_prefix)/lib'. (If
      you are using Autoconf, write it as address@hidden@'.) 

IMHO the appropriate location seems to be `datadir' (or better yet
`pkgdatadir' i.e. `datadir/lynx') for system independent files.

In the case of lynx.cfg there's only one thing that could be system
dependent, i.e. the SYSTEM_MAIL and SYSTEM_MAIL_FLAGS-settings. These
settings do not tend to change very often, but one would need
a different lynx.cfg-file for every platform anyway.
On the other hand it may frequently be necessary to change any
settings in the lynx.cfg-file for all systems that lynx runs on. In
the moment one needs either to maintain several different lynx.cfg's
or one global file, with the drawback that the variables stated above
can not be set in different ways.

I would propose to put the mail settings into the binary (i.e. the
code) and to remove it from the - then system independent -
lynx.cfg-file.

As I'm not a member of the list, please send any replies to 

        address@hidden

-- 
With best regards
  Olaf

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