Re: How do you package your programs?

I think it's very unfortunate that MakeMaker works this way. The directory I install the perl binary in is not the same directory I want to install a random program in, that just happens to be written in Perl.

Large packages, I always install in /opt/app, for suitable app. This is done so you can easily remove an entire application - if only because you want to make a new, fresh, install. A program 'foo' belongs in /opt/foo/bin/foo, or /usr/local/bin/foo, depending whether I want it installed in its own directory structure or not. It should not be dropped in a directory depending on the language it happen to be written in.

Abigail

Comment on Re: How do you package your programs?

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Re: How do you package your programs? by crenz (Priest) on Aug 28, 2002 at 12:50 UTC
I second Abigail's suggestion. This also solves the problem of storing additional data files. Just use `/opt/myapp/(data\|sounds\|grapics\|...)`. Some applications like to install themselves as `/usr/bin/myapp`, then proceed to install files into `/usr/share/myapp/`. I prefer the first approach, as it keeps everything nicely bundled together. You can always add scripts to `/usr/local/bin` to put your app in the path. But of course, with opinions varying greatly, it is best to give the user a choice. Some might even want to install your app in a homedir on a shared server. That's the beauty of `configure --prefix=/path`...	[reply]

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Re: How do you package your programs?
by crenz (Priest) on Aug 28, 2002 at 12:50 UTC

I second Abigail's suggestion. This also solves the problem of storing additional data files. Just use /opt/myapp/(data|sounds|grapics|...). Some applications like to install themselves as /usr/bin/myapp, then proceed to install files into /usr/share/myapp/. I prefer the first approach, as it keeps everything nicely bundled together. You can always add scripts to /usr/local/bin to put your app in the path.

But of course, with opinions varying greatly, it is best to give the user a choice. Some might even want to install your app in a homedir on a shared server. That's the beauty of configure --prefix=/path...

[reply]