On Fri, Apr 27, 2001 at 11:12:50AM -0400, Derek Glidden wrote:
<snip>
> My rationale for /opt: anything that gets installed via whatever the
> system's package management tool, i.e. RPMs or DEBs, go under the /usr
> tree where they will get installed by default; anything I personally
> install and have control over where they go, like games, additional
> software packages compiled and installed by me, etc, goes in /opt.
> Why? If it's been installed by a package tool, I can use that package
> tool to manage it and its associated files, like remove it, upgrade it,
> etc. If I've installed it, I have to go to the directory under /opt
> where I've installed it to remove it, delete it, install a newer
> version, etc.
>
> And notice that I don't install stuff into /home, so I never need a very
> big home. If I download lots of files, I make "/opt/incoming" and make
> it writable by my login ID and put everything there. Likewise, I will
> have /opt/mp3 for my music, /opt/media for graphics and video, and so
> on. That keeps my /home partition clean and pristine. :)
>
Here's where you vary from FHS. FHS specifies software packages for
/opt, not music, media or other files. Those I would put in /home. I
download a lot of software, but I put the tarballs in
/home/paulf/download. I also have a /home/paulf/docs subdirectory which
contains not only my misc spreadsheets and documents, but also
hard-to-find documents on various subjects. That way, if when I upgrade
or change distros, I just scoop up everything in /home/paulf and restore
it after the upgrade. Likewise, I put software I install into
/usr/local/bin, unless it's something huge like Star Office, Applix,
etc. The FHS isn't clear on the difference between /opt and /usr/local,
since in the former case it refers to "add on application software
packages", and in the latter it is simply additional software the system
administrator may install. Also, /opt directories generally aren't
writable by regular users, where /home/whoever is.
Note: except for my comments about the FHS above, everything else is my
_opinion_. Yours may vary from mine, and no one is obligated to follow
the FHS.
Paul
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