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

[Laurent Rineau]

On Friday 02 March 2007 13:10:03 Axel Thimm wrote:
> 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? :)

Yes, exactly. I have requoted it to have a self-consistant email, more 
understable if possible. And I wanted to give the whole quotation, without 
any ellipsis.

> > >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.

Just in case it is not clear, my point is that all config file must have an 
instance in /etc/. However, I do not see anything in the FHS that prevent to 
have another instance in /usr/.

For example, /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XTerm could be %config, *but* there 
should exists another Xressource file about xterm in /etc/X11/. 
Actually /etc/X11/Xresources can already overrides things 
from /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XTerm AFAIK.

I do not see why we prevent all our users from 
modifying /usr/share/X11/app-defaults/XTerm, as soon as we provide them a way 
to do the same thing in /etc/.

-- 
Laurent Rineau
http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/LaurentRineau