Re: Hurd FS hierarchy (was Re: LD_LIBRARY_PATH troubles)

[Richard Kreuter]

On Mon, Mar 18, 2002 at 07:42:56PM +0100, Jeroen Dekkers wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 18, 2002 at 10:17:30AM -0800, Thomas Bushnell, BSG wrote:
> > Jeroen Dekkers <jeroen@dekkers.cx> writes:
> > 
> > > Which purpose? Having to put /sbin for a lot of programs like parted
> > > and traceroute? Or just for those handful of programs left only usable
> > > for a system administrator?
> > 
> > Have you read the coding standards?
> 
> Yes, but I can't find a rationale for the /sbin directory.

  Maybe there isn't a good one.  (It seems to exist (in the FHS, at
any rate) so that some commands will be out of the way for normal
users.  Given the number of programs on a modern system, though, any
command the user doesn't already know about is out of the way, in the
sense that the user will only find it by chance.)

  That said, I'm not arguing for or against the existence of /sbin.
I'm operating with it as given that the GNU standards and the FHS both
define sbin as a directory for commands not needed by normal users.
If so, then some of the commands normally found in sbin directories on
non-GNU/Hurd systems belong in bin directories on GNU/Hurd, because
the unprivileged user is able and encouraged to use them under normal
system conditions.

Thanks,
Richard