On Sep 30, 2013 9:31 AM, "Daniel Campbell" <li...@sporkbox.us> wrote:
>

--- le snip ---

> If the proposed solution is all binaries and libraries in the same
> root/prefix directory, then why call it /usr?

My question exactly.

Why install to /usr at all, leaving /bin and /sbin a practically empty
directory containing symlinks only?

I mean, I have no quarrel with / and /usr separation, having had them in
the same partition for ages... but why not do it the other way around,
i.e., put everything in / and have /usr be a container for symlinks?

> It has little to do with
> users if it's nothing but binaries, libraries, etc. In addition, would a
> local directory still be under this, for user-compiled programs not
> maintained by the PM? Or does that deserve a different top level
directory?
>
> Then there's /opt, whose purpose I'm still not sure of. This is
> strengthening the idea that something new should be thought up and
> drafted.

IIRC, it was supposed to contain third-party binaries, i.e., things not
available in a distro's package repo. Thus, when one's tired of a
third-party binary package, he/she can just delete the relevant directory
under /opt, because the third-party package might not be uninstallable
using the distro's package management system (if any).

Of course, he/she might have to clean up the leftover crud in /etc, but
those are usually small and can safely be ignored. Except perhaps startup
initscripts.

> Not necessarily by us at Gentoo, but *somebody*. If I was crazy
> and knowledgeable enough I'd volunteer myself.
>

Rgds,
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