[Debian GNUstep maintainers] Re: GNUstep and FHS

[Eric Heintzmann]

Steve Langasek wrote:
> On Sat, Jul 30, 2005 at 12:00:32PM +0200, Marc 'HE' Brockschmidt wrote:
> 
>>Ola Lundqvist <opal at debian.org> writes:
>>
>>>I do not really see a problem here. All gnustep packages store
>>>files in a (at least sort of) FHS compliant directory:
>>>/usr/lib/GNUstep
> 
> 
>>Are the files stored there only object files, libraries and internal
>>binaries not intended to be executed directly by users? [This is quoted
>>From the FHS]
> 
> 
>>>It is not very different from perl, python, emacs, java (and more) packages
>>>that have a "filesystem" of it's own and managed there.
> 
> 
>>Listing Perl, Python and Emacs here is totally wrong (and I don't know
>>enough about Java packaging to speak about it). Perl is the best
>>example: Architecture-dependend data is stored in /usr/lib/perl{/,5/},
>>arch-indep data in /usr/share/perl.
> 
> 
> Not 100% true; /usr/lib/perl{/,5/} contain architecture-dependent binary
> modules, *along with any architecture-independent wrappers that accompany
> them*.
> 
> And python includes no differentiation whatsoever between /usr/share and
> /usr/lib.
> 
> 
>>Perl scripts that are intended to be used directly go to {/usr,}/bin.
> 
> 
> Right, this is one of the points I have the biggest problem with, wrt
> current GNUstep filesystem layout.
> 

Well, if you think about the need to source GNUstep.sh before doing 
anything with GNUstep, this is not needed anymore in the latest release 
(not yet packaged/uploaded).

Furthermore, in GNUstep like in NeXTStep/OpenStep/MacOSX, nothing is 
intended to be used directly.
Tools are intended to be opened with the opentool command, Applications 
are intended to be opened with the openapp command.
For example:
opentool gdnc
openapp GNUMail
(In Debian, wrappers that call openapp and opentool have been added in 
/usr/bin for all GNUstep apps and tools)

Moving application executables in /usr/bin without moving their 
architecture-independent data in the same dir would break these 
applications because the executables would not able to find the needed 
data's.
Same problem with GNUstep Frameworks, Services and Bundles (plugins).

	Eric