>>>>> On Fri, 21 Dec 2012, Duncan wrote: >>> The FHS says: >>> >>> /var/cache is intended for cached data from applications. Such >>> data is locally generated as a result of time-consuming I/O or >>> calculation. The application must be able to regenerate or >>> restore the data.
> I'd been wondering about the point others have made about "locally > generated", vs "Internet downloaded". > However, upon rereading the above FHS quote, it hit me -- "from > applications... locally generated... as a result of time-consuming > I/O" is actually pretty explicit. I believe the emphasis has been on > "locally generated", and the point that it explicitly includes "as a > result of time-consuming I/O" in the definition of "locally > generated" has been missed entirely. I know I missed it. But, if > internet downloads triggered by running a local app don't qualify as > "generated as a result of time-consuming I/O", what other I/O-basis > generated files DO qualify as cache? That seems to pretty explicitly > include Internet downloads in the definition, to me! While this might be true for distfiles, Portage doesn't use the local copy of the tree as a cache. A normal emerge command doesn't trigger a download of the tree. And if the tree was removed, emerge doesn't work. Ulrich
