The FHS /usr song (was: Core packages are using %config for files being installed under /usr)

[Axel Thimm]

On Fri, Mar 02, 2007 at 12:08:38PM +0100, Laurent Rineau wrote:
> I quote below the FHS version 2.3, given at 
> http://www.pathname.com/fhs/pub/fhs-2.3.pdf
> 
> ===== quote =====
> Chapter 4. The /usr Hierarchy
> 
> 4.1. Purpose
> 
> /usr is the second major section of the filesystem. /usr is shareable, 
> read-only data. That means that /usr
> should be shareable between various FHS-compliant hosts and must not be 
> written to. Any information that is
> host-specific or varies with time is stored elsewhere.
> Large software packages must not use a direct subdirectory under the /usr 
> hierarchy.
> ===== end of quote =====

Ahem, isn't that exactly the quote I gave yesterday? :)

> >From the sentence "Any information that is host-specific or varies with time is 
> stored elsewhere.", how could you understand that *sitewise* configuration 
> files must be in /etc?!

I understand that they must not be in /usr. This sentence does not say
where to put them, but the FHS has an /etc section as well.

> What is more, I quote the title of the section about /etc:
>   "3.7. /etc : Host-specific system configuration"
> 
> Here again, /etc/ is for host-specific stuff. So, sharable config files, that 
> are not be written to by the system, can go into /usr/, and should not be 
> in /etc (even the FSH states precisely that /etc is for host-specific stuff).

So font.alias is now a "sharable config file"? Why isn't ntp.conf a
sharable file? Do you have ntp.conf under /usr just because you could
mount it on another host and share this configuration? 95% of /etc
could be declared "sharable" that way, so should /etc get under /usr?

That's not working. In fact you could consider that other than
clustering software in fedora there is nothing "sharable". The usual
Fedora way to sync config across different hosts is to use a sync
tool, not so much to outsource half of /etc to /usr and mount this.

> I really what a discussion.

Then please carry this to the FHS, not here. How did I suddenly got
promoted the local FHS advocate here? ;)

Really, /usr is not for %config files.

> You may convince me and Ralf.

No, I obviously can't ;)
-- 
Axel.Thimm at ATrpms.net
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