help-hurd
[Top][All Lists]
Advanced

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Hurd FS hierarchy (was Re: LD_LIBRARY_PATH troubles)


From: Richard Kreuter
Subject: Re: Hurd FS hierarchy (was Re: LD_LIBRARY_PATH troubles)
Date: Sun, 12 May 2002 16:33:37 -0400
User-agent: Mutt/1.2.5i

Here's a redraft based on the discussion over the last day or
so.

Same punctuation: +++ is stuff added since last time, <> for editorial
remarks.

---

The following things need to change in the FHS itself:

3.5.1 Grub may place its configuration file under /boot.

3.9.3 I'm not sure /lib/modules is the right place for kernel
modules. I think we should move it to the GNU/Linux specific annex.

5.6.1 says "it not supported under Linux", which is too OS-specific.

+++GNU specific annex:

6.2  GNU

This is the annex for the GNU operating system.  We sometimes refer
to this as the GNU/Hurd system, in cases where it is necessary to
distinguish the GNU system from other systems that use large amounts
of GNU software.

The GNU system is special compared to other UNIX-like operating
systems in the way it treats the filesystem namespace. The filesystem
namespace is very flexible, you can do anything with it what you
want. That's why it is reasonable to specify where you should find
directories and files, but not the way those directories and files
should get there.

As a rule, distributors who wish to maintain compatibility between
their distributions of GNU/Hurd, GNU/Linux, or other systems may maintain
symbolic links to files whose locations on GNU systems differ from
their locations on other systems.  This accomodates programs with
"hard-coded" filenames. For example, files that should be found
under /libexec may be symbolic links, or may be the targets of
symbolic links located under /sbin, /bin, and so forth.


6.2.x  / : The Root Filesystem

It's allowed to create a new subdirectory of the root filesystem by
the distribution creator or user.

6.2.x  /boot : Static files of the bootloader

<If the following isn't already in the FHS, then>
The configuration file for the grub bootloader may be found under
/boot.

6.2.x  /bin : Essential user command binaries (for use by all users)

The following utilites used for system boot and recovery must be
located in /bin:

settrans
showtrans
fsysopts


The following utilities may be omitted from /bin:

dmesg
mount
umount  

The GNU system has been designed with a goal of providing users with
more power than they have traditionally been afforded on Unix and
Unix-compatible systems.  As a result, several system binaries are
useful to normal users and should be found in /bin:

mkfs.*
mk*fs
*fsck
fsck.*
parted
*fdisk


6.2.x  /com : Shareable, variable data.

The /com hierarchy contains files architecture-independent data files
which programs modify while they run.  Some of these files have
been placed in /var or /usr in the past; in case a distributor wishes
to maintain compatibility with systems that expect to find these files
in /var or /usr, symbolic links may be used.

BEGIN RATIONALE:

Having recognized the distinction between shareable and non-shareable
mutable data files, the authors of the GNU Coding Standards intend
that all shareable mutable data files be found under a single
directory, to simplify management of shared file hierarchies among
systems.

END RATIONALE

6.2.x  /hurd : The Hurd servers

/hurd contains the Hurd server binaries. Servers with .static appended
to their name must be statically linked servers, servers without
.static appended may be dynamically linked servers.

6.2.x  /libexec : Executables only run by other programs

/libexec contains executable programs intended to be run by other
programs, rather than by users.

The following are example programs that could be found in /libexec,
if they exist on a system:

in.telnetd
in.ftpd
sendmail

Note that some programs that are normally run only by other programs
may occasionaly be run by users under certain circumstances, such as
debugging.  Nevertheless, such programs are to be found in /libexec.

BEGIN RATIONALE:

A number of programs are normally only run by other programs.  These
programs therefore don't belong in directories containing commands for
users.

END RATIONALE

6.2.x  /sbin : 

The following utilities may be placed in /bin:

devprobe 

6.2.x  /servers : Standard location where Hurd servers translate

This is the directory Hurd servers translate rendezvous filesystem
nodes in standard locations, so that other programs can easily find
them and use server-specific interfaces.

/servers/crash     The node which the crash server translates.
/servers/exec      The node which the exec sever translates.
/servers/password  The node which the password server translates.
/servers/proc      The node which the process server translates.

In addition, all files with names of the form /servers/socket/N, where
N is a string of digits, are reserved +++as rendezvous points for
domain socket translators. Symbolic links to these files are also
permitted in the /servers/socket directory, as shown in the example
below.

/servers/socket/1  The node which the pflocal server translates.
/servers/socket/2  The node which the pfinet server translates.
/servers/socket/local  A symbolic link to /servers/socket/1
/servers/socket/inet   A symbolic link to /servers/socket/2.

6.2.x  /usr : Secondary Hierarchy

+++In the GNU system, /usr is a symbolic link to . in the root
directory.  The / and /usr directory have thus the same name and names
of files and directories within them must not conflict.

BEGIN RATIONALE

+++The GNU Hurd will have a special filesystem, called shadowfs, which
will be able to "merge" directories. Thus everything from different
sources can be merged (both static and variable data) and /usr isn't
really needed.  Instead of /usr, everything will be found under /.

END RATIONALE

6.2.x  /share/info

This directory should exist as the primary GNU Info system directory.

6.2.x  /usr/share/man  This directory is optional on a GNU system.

6.2.x  /usr/X11R6 : X Window System, Version 11 Release 6

This directory should not be used. Instead the X Window System should
be placed in /.

6.2.x  /var : Mutable, machine-specific data files

The /var hierarchy should normally not contain files that can be
shared among host systems.  These files should instead be found in
/com.

BEGIN RATIONALE:

Having recognized the distinction between shareable and
non-shareable mutable data files, the authors of the GNU Coding
Standards intend that all unshareable mutable data files be found
under a single directory, to simplify management of shareable file
hierarchies among host systems.

END RATIONALE

6.2.x  /var/spool/cron : cron and at jobs

This directory contains the variable data for the cron and at
programs.






reply via email to

[Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]