Date: Sat, 13 Jul 2002 22:55:45 +0100 (BST) From: Mark Valentine <mark@thuvia.demon.co.uk> To: Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com> Cc: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com>, Jordan K Hubbard <jkh@queasyweasel.com>, Dan Nelson <dnelson@allantgroup.com>, Archie Cobbs <archie@dellroad.org>, Dan Moschuk <dan@freebsd.org>, Dag-Erling Smorgrav <des@ofug.org>, arch@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Package system flaws? Message-ID: <200207132155.g6DLtjfQ049903@dotar.thuvia.org> In-Reply-To: Terry Lambert's message of Jul 12, 6:15pm
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> From: Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com> > Date: Fri 12 Jul, 2002 > Subject: Re: Package system flaws? > Mark Valentine wrote: > > > From: Terry Lambert <tlambert2@mindspring.com> > > > At this point, the best approach is probably a registry. > > > > It already exists for our purposes: /var/db/pkg. > > If you can tell me how to do a quick indexed lookup by key for > something like "path to configuration file", which wanted to > be in "/etc", was comipled to be in "/usr/local/etc", and which > the user wants to install in "/var/opt/etc", I'd be grateful. > 8-). A slight refinement on "grep @cwd /var/db/pkg/$1/+CONTENTS" is good enough for me. (The new metadata format will specifically cater for this lookup, and I've suggested there be an API call for it.) If performance is a serious issue, we can create a .db file. > > > While it's theoretically possible to edit this data in place, > > > assuming the path is not assembled from components at runtime, > > > in practice, you are limited to a path of equal or smaller size. > > > > My location strings would be padded out to a reasonable maximum size. > > With respect, I'm not worried about *your* location strings, > I'm worried about the location strings that end up in binaries > that result from "configure" resulting from "configure.in" from > "autoconf", etc.. > > If we were just talking about *your* location strings, then I > could be pretty sure that whatever API the OS presented, you > would use it. Most applications need modification to allow install-time relocation, end of story. Our job is to make this as easy as possible. > > > A lesser alternative is to have a "/var/opt" or some other > > > location which is guaranteed to be a symlink to the real path > > > location... and is never, itself, a real directory. > > > > Well, we could already create such a symlink, even on a per-package basis, > > as (for example) /var/db/pkg/foo-x.y/location... > > It's really ugly. And, as I pointed out, "lesser". 8-). I was simply pointing out what's possible now. Cheers, Mark. -- Mark Valentine, Thuvia Labs <mark@thuvia.co.uk> <http://www.thuvia.co.uk>; "Tigers will do ANYTHING for a tuna fish sandwich." Mark Valentine uses "We're kind of stupid that way." *munch* *munch* and endorses FreeBSD -- <http://www.calvinandhobbes.com>; <http://www.freebsd.org>; To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-arch" in the body of the message
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