Re: GNUSTEP_INSTALLATION_DOMAIN

[Sheldon Gill]

Nicola Pero wrote:
> > > > Would it be an idea to have an option that decides what kind of tree is
> > > > going to be used like:
> > > >
> > > > GNUSTEP_FS_STRUCTURE=[FHS|GNUSTEP|WINDOWS|SOLARIS]
> > > We're not far from that ;-) ... that option will be used when configuring
> > > gnustep-make.
> > It is -base which decides what goes where so we shouldn't we really be
> > configuring base, not -make?
> >
> > Decoupling the dependencies is a good thing, IMHO.
>
> You would be able to change your filesystem structure at any time by
> editing your GNUstep.conf.
>
> GNUstep.conf is initially created by gnustep-make, so it makes sense to
> have the option there.

Yes, but it doesn't need to be. It's a development tool.

> Things should be decoupled ... -make and -base don't really talk or depend
> on each other.

Not entirely true. Currently -base depends on -make for configuration.

> Everything is driven by GNUstep.conf.  You'll be able to use -base (/any
> other GNUstep software)
> without -make if you want, if you set manually everything in GNUstep.conf.

That's right. Yet if -base generated GNUstep.conf then you wouldn't need to do 
that. You could replace -make with any other tool that could translate from the 
GNUmakefiles.

> > > We just need to save the configured filesystem structure in GNUstep.conf,
> > > and use it to set GNUSTEP_APPS etc. in common.make, and we're almost done
> > > (except
> > > that a few things, like GNUSTEP_INSTALLATION_DIR, will no longer work
> in that
> > > context). ;-)
> > Then every application, at launch time, must set up the whole fs structure?
>
> Yes ... we're not really "almost done". :-( ... we also need to have
> gnustep-base load
> the directory structure from GNUstep.conf and use it when searching for stuff
> at runtime :-/

For long lived processes this might be fine but for short lived tools you're 
imposing a considerable startup delay.

I added PLATFORM_SUPPORT as a step in avoiding that.

If you said something like:

GNUSTEP_INSTALLATION_DOMAIN=PLATFORM_LIBS

you'd get your library installing into /usr/lib and so forth.

So any GNUSTEP_* spec uses OpenStep domain layout.
Any PLATFORM_* spec uses the local platform specifics.

> > For consideration, isn't GNUSTEP_INSTALLATION_DOMAIN a little too
> confusing?
> > I'd prefer something a little more like:
> >
> > GNUSTEP_INSTALLATION_DIR  (we'd have to change some -make internals)
>
> The problem with this is that it would break backwards compatibility ;-)
>
> There are makefiles out there that might be using it in the old meaning.
> We can't break those, at least not when they are used in the old context. ;-)

Well, yes. Making it *ION_DIRECTORY would solve that while keeping the semantic 
idea.

> > GNUSTEP_INSTALL_INTO
> > GNUSTEP_INSTALL_DESTINATION
> >
> > or perhaps we should be thinking more along packaging lines...
> >
> > GNUSTEP_PACKAGE_LOCATION
> >
> > Packagers can easily add a line to their makefile or preamble this way...
>
> I don't really have an opinion, I like GNUSTEP_INSTALLATION_DOMAIN but
> we can change the option name, it's not a problem. :-)
>
> Comments/suggestions on the name are welcome. :-)

Cool. Others?


Regards,
Sheldon