> Danek Duvall wrote:
> > Why shouldn't they be mixed together? What value do you derive from
> > siloing these components?
>
>
> namespace control, administrative granularity, easier updating and
> evolution, and a host of related abilities.
And IIRC, searching directories with lots of entries is resource
consuming.
> Your argument seems to be that, because we have a poor way of setting
> the user's PATH, that everything must go into a single location so that
> they can discover it easier.
>
> PATH is really only a problem with shell users, anyways. Most people
> not on these aliases are comfortable using a GUI desktop, with its
> menus and icons, to invoke programs. For the most part, they don't
> need to care about PATH, nor are they impacted by where the programs
> are installed.
>
> Maybe the answer is "fix the PATH problem", not clutter up /usr/bin.
Does anyone actually use the default path? Is setting a path
really that much of an imposition? I find it more of a pain
to figure out MAN_PATH, than my search path.
> > Is the path to the executable the most appropriate way of determining
> > what subsystem a particular file belongs to?
>
> One of the ways, yes. Take a look at Mac OS X, applications are
> really directory trees and they install in the equivalent of
> /usr/bin (the Applications folder). Installing an application
> is as simple as dragging and dropping a folder from the install
> media to the Applications folder. Installing an alternate version
> is the same - it gets automatically named "application 2".
And even in Mac OS X there are subdirectories (Folders that are
not applications). The prime example is /Applications/Utilities.
And when I installed the SW that came with my Wife's HP printer,
it dropped stuff in /Applications/Hewlet-Packard.
> The rules for "core parts of OpenSolaris that OpenSolaris depends
> on", "applications installed by users", and "middleware installed
> by users" *might* and probably *should be* different.
Ah and in Mac OS X, have /Users/gww/Applications where I keep
my stuff such as carbon copy cloner, Tinkertool and the like.
So, I'm all for /usr/<high level dictory that makes sense>/...
Keeping / small is a reasonable goal.
Gary..
