Date: Thu, 11 Sep 1997 08:44:29 +1000 (EST) From: Andrew Reilly <reilly@zeta.org.au> To: kpneal@pobox.com Cc: dawes@rf900.physics.usyd.edu.au, freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: My FreeBSD Wish List... Message-ID: <199709102244.IAA02091@gurney.reilly.home> In-Reply-To: <1.5.4.32.19970910054020.00cc13ec@mail.mindspring.com>
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On 10 Sep, Kevin P. Neal wrote:
> At 02:30 PM 9/10/97 +1000, David Dawes wrote:
>>On a partly related note, a future XFree86 release will put config files
>>(like xdm config files for example) in a directory hierarchy below /var
>>(most likely /var/X11). It is possible that future X11 releases from The
>>Open Group will do this too. This will make it easier to use a read-only
>>/usr/X11R6. None of this has been set in stone yet, so if anyone has
>>any comments about this, please let me know.
>
> Wouldn't it be better to put them below, say, /etc/X11? With logging going
> to /var/log/X11/* or something?
Depends on whether X is to be a "part of the system" (plausible) or
a package on its own. I vote for /etc/X11 and /var/log/X11 for the
former, and something like
/usr/X11R6/{etc,var,...} for the latter. If people want their log
files to go to a different partition, then they can symlink them to
/var/log/X11 if they like.
> I personally am bothered by config files in /var. I was under the impression
> that /etc was the proper location of config files.
I agree. I generally consider var to be a place that would not affect
the world too badly if it became corrupted. The sort of place you could
mount asynch, and only back up weekly. Obviously there are a few
exceptions to that being workable policy, but that's the sort of
"spool" idea.
>>From NetBSD's hier manpage (the FreeBSD box in the apt is in the room of a
> sleeping person, so...):
>
> /etc system configuration files and scripts
>
> /var multi-purpose log, temporary, transient, and spool files.
/etc is definitely the place for configuration files for "system"
things.
I am quite used to /usr/local/etc for configuration files for things
added to the "system".
Which of these XFree86 falls into is probably the core of the argument.
--
Andrew
"The steady state of disks is full."
-- Ken Thompson
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