George Vasick writes:
> > Since this will contain version-specific bin directories which users are
> > expected to add to their PATH, it shouldn't go below /usr/lib. Existing
> > precedent would be /usr/gcc/4.3.
>
> Normally, users would not need to add version specific directories to
> their PATH, /usr/bin and /usr/gnu/bin would work just fine in the case
> where only one version of gcc is installed.
I don't buy this: if there were no intention to be able to install
different versions in parallel, /usr/compilers could just be omitted and
the compilers installed directly into /usr/gnu and/or /usr. But there are
good reasons to have different compiler versions installed at the same
time: the trouble and effort it takes to migrate OS/Net from one Studio
version to the next is a good example, as is the fact that this case leaves
GCC 3.4.3 in place exactly because GCC 4.3.2 isn't a drop-in replacement
and the effort to migrate OS/Net to 4.3.2 hasn't been completed (or even
started) yet.
And if there are good reasons for users to select a particular compiler
version, we should try to make this reasonably usable: given GCCs policy
that only regression fixes can go into a micro release, I see no reason to
force users to specifiy a micro release if all the need (and want) to say
is `give me GCC 3.4' or `give me GCC 4.3'. Forcing them to specify a
particular micro release would be similar to having to specify Studio 12 +
a particular set of patches, which makes no sense in general.
Rainer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rainer Orth, Faculty of Technology, Bielefeld University
