Re: GNUSTEP_INSTALLATION_DOMAIN

[Nicola Pero]

> NB. the system domain for installation purposes would not be the same
> as the system domain for all other purposes in this case.

This is a new, confusing distinction that you are introducing and that would
make everything lot more complicated. ;-)

You're proposing to introduce 'installation domains' as separated from
'runtime domains',
ie, you could have /usr/lib as the runtime System/Libraries dir, while
/usr/local/lib
is the installation System/Libraries dir.  That would be a hell lot of a
complication (and
there is more complexity for packagers). ;-)

Hopefully we can negotiate some other solution, as I don't want to add
such complexity. :-/

I had written more on this, but I don't want to discuss it.  Too complex. ;-)


>> I agree ... but who decides what are the system packages ?  Not
>> us. :-)
>>
>> It's decided by the packagers. ;-)
>
> But we *are* the packagers for the *default* system ... the GNUstep
> system.
>

We only distribute the source code, not binaries.  If we distribute binaries,
then yes, we should install the GNUstep ones into System.  When we distribute
source code, it should install by default into Local.

I agree we should have binaries distributions of the "default" system, and
those
should install all GNUstep packages into System.  In fact, anything that
they package
should be put into System.  That would be great. :-)


> Only where you are using a system with GNUstep stuff pre-installed.
> Many (most?) people are not using such a system ... they have
> installed the 'GNUstep system' on their machine.
> It's located in /usr/GNUstep.
> The standard packages are in /usr/GNUstep/System
> Other stuff is in /usr/GNUstep/Local

Core developers (/most people at the moment) that compile and install from
scratch
are not using a distribution. ;-)

(guess I need to clarify that by 'distribution' I mean 'binary
distribution').

When you're not using a distribution, the difference between System and
Local is
irrelevant.  They could well be the same ... you're installing everything
from scratch
anyway. :-)

In fact, why would you care where things go at all ?  It could well all go
into Local
and you wouldn't notice.

At the moment, software installs randomly into System or Local.  Nobody
cares because
nobody is using a distribution.  When occasionally they look at the
directories
they might like seeing 'core' stuff in System and other stuff in Local,
but it's only
aesthetical.

If we had distributions (and we hope to get more of that as a result of
the massive
simplification and "Unix nativization"), then people would start to get
some packages
from the distribution, and to compile some of them manually.  Then the
difference starts
to be important.

If you're getting -make and -base from the binary distribution, but you're
installing -gui
from sources, you would want -make and -base into /usr/GNUstep/System, and
-gui into
/usr/GNUstep/Local ... and you start to care about the difference, because
stuff in
/usr/GNUstep/System is package-managed, while stuff in /usr/GNUstep/Local
is not.

The standard GNU solution that everyone is using is that source code by
default installs
into Local unless you specify differently.  Users do nothing and it all
works; packagers
simply specify differently, which is a single install flag, and it all works.

We should do the same IMO.

Thanks