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Re: GNU standards: DESTDIR with symlinks
From: |
Bruno Haible |
Subject: |
Re: GNU standards: DESTDIR with symlinks |
Date: |
Mon, 26 Sep 2022 23:13:02 +0200 |
Adrian Mariano wrote:
> I looked around in the GNU standards with regards to DESTDIR and found
> no comment on this matter. What is the official GNU position on
> handling of symlinks with DESTDIR?
I think it's answered from the GNU standards text:
"... any embedded file names will not be modified."
A symlink contains an embedded file name. The text says that during
the final move from $(DESTDIR)$(filename) to $(filename) the symlink
will not be modified.
Also
"'DESTDIR' support is commonly used in package creation."
So you have to arrange for the symlink to *not* include $(DESTDIR).
> That is, should the symlink include $DESTDIR, so it is valid in-place?
No. If someone wants symlinks that are valid in-place, they should do
an installation with a different --prefix.
--prefix and DESTDIR are different features for different use-cases.
It is wrong to want to make DESTDIR behave in a way for which --prefix
is designed, and vice versa.
Bruno