[Octave-bug-tracker] [bug #57012] move all ".octave_xxx" files from home dir into new subfolder ".octave"

[Hartmut]

URL:
  <https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?57012>

                 Summary: move all ".octave_xxx" files from home dir into new
subfolder ".octave"
                 Project: GNU Octave
            Submitted by: hardy
            Submitted on: Sun 06 Oct 2019 06:39:16 PM UTC
                Category: None
                Severity: 3 - Normal
                Priority: 5 - Normal
              Item Group: Feature Request
                  Status: None
             Assigned to: None
         Originator Name: 
        Originator Email: 
             Open/Closed: Open
         Discussion Lock: Any
                 Release: dev
        Operating System: Any

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Details:

Currently Octave generates a bunch of files in the "home" directory of the
user:

* .octave_hist
* .octave_packages
* .octaverc

These file names start with a dot which makes them "hidden" on linux OS, but
on Windows OS they stay prominently visible in the main "home" folder. (This
is what constantly bothers me.)

Changing the file system properties of those file to "hidden" under Windows OS
does unfortunatelly not work. (See bug #49214 or bug #49275) This is because
on Win OS it is in principle not possible to write into a file with "hidden"
attribute, and for example the readline library (that Octave uses) is not able
to work around this Windows "feature".

My SUGGESTION now is, to move all Octave related config files away from the
users home directory, and to instead put them all into a newly created FOLDER,
e.g. with the name ".octave" inside the home directory.

This would still make those files hidden for linux users. But in addition it
would make it possible for Windows users to just "hide" this subfolder, and
all those files become invisible. (Since it is not necessary to "hide" the
files themselfs, the current problems would not occure this way.)

Note: This seems to be what other cross-platform open source software is
doing. At least I have observed it with the python distribution Anaconda under
Windows OS.

What do you think?





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