[csw-maintainers] User requests symlinking from /usr/bin to /opt/csw/bin

[Philip Brown]

On Wed, Nov 18, 2009 at 1:06 AM, Maciej (Matchek) Blizinski
<maciej at opencsw.org> wrote:
> Maintainers,
>
> There's a user request to create symlinks from /usr/bin to
> /opt/csw/bin, for instance, /usr/bin/lpr --> /opt/csw/bin/lpr.
>
> http://www.opencsw.org/mantis/view.php?id=2924
>
> I think there might be a use case for it, but at the same time, why
> not just set the PATH?  I don't mind creating such package, but we're
> not putting anything into /usr/bin by the rule.  What are your
> thoughts?  Create a package with symlinks or not?
>

Hmm... there then becomes a question of, what to put in the package?

for example, we have a gnu links package, that links ALL (or at least
most) of the g-prefixed GNU utilities in /opt/csw/bin, to
/opt/csw/gnu.

That is a cross-package set of links.
Should we do the same for this sort of request?
If so, which packages/programs should we include symlinks for?

or should we make a whole bunch of separate  CSWxxx"links" packages?


OR... should we make a metapackage, with some sort of config file, and
let the user decide?

eg: CSWusrlinks, which will reference  one or both of

/opt/csw/etc/cswusrlinks.conf
/etc/opt/csw/cswusrlinks.conf

and then if CSWxyz is mentioned there, it will make symlinks into /usr
for that package.
(in a postinstall script)

ORRRRR... do we create another cswclassutils class, where either
individual files can be set as in the "usrlinks" class, or it provides
a config file, "if the user wants symlinks into usr for my package,
make symlinks for the following files automatically..."

I think this last one is perhaps the best long term option. for one
reason, because it uses class action scripts instead of postinstall
scripts, so it is the most future-proof.