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

[Richard Kreuter]

On Sun, Mar 24, 2002 at 10:35:09AM -0600, Carl Wilhelm Soderstrom wrote:
> > > so what about /var/lib? (another directory I don't fully understand
> > > the reasoning behind; I'm just throwing this out as an idea).
> > 
> >   /var/lib is for state information...
>
>       exactly. from what I see, most of the stuff in /var/lib could
> be better put in /var/cache or /var/spool; or even their own subdirs
> under /var.

  The distinctions in the FHS between each pair of /var/cache,
/var/spool, and /var/lib are pretty clear, albeit maybe arbitrary.  I
think the paradigmatic examples would be cached man pages in
/var/cache, packaging system state data in /var/lib, and print jobs in
/var/spool.  If there are packages who create files in the wrong
place, that's something to address with the packager, I guess.

  There are probably cases where the FHS underdetermines things: on
recent RedHat systems, under certain circumstances, the IP address of
a newtork-accessible printer is stored under /var/lib, presumably
because from the designer's point of view, the address is application
data belonging to their printconf system.  I thought it was
configuration data belonging in /etc, and spent hours looking for it
there.  :(


Richard