correct location for third party /var files

[Ion-Mihai Tetcu]

On 17 Mar 2010 18:49:36 -0000
tmseck-lists at netcologne.de (Thomas-Martin Seck) wrote:

> * Dmitry Marakasov <amdmi3 at amdmi3.ru> [gmane.os.freebsd.devel.ports]:
> 
> > * Eitan Adler (eitanadlerlist at gmail.com) wrote:
> > 
> >> Are third party tools supposed to use /usr/local/var or /var ?
> > 
> > /var, absolutely. Everything that uses /usr/local/var or, even
> > worse, /usr/local/${PORTNAME} should be fixed.
> 
> I beg to differ, especially your absolute posturing, but take this as
> the opinion of an aging fart.
> 
> When I started maintaining ports in 2004, the (or at least my) goal
> was to avoid absolute paths in pkg-plist like the plague, that is why
> I do not bother to use something /var/cache/squid or /var/log/squid
> instead of PREFIX/squid/{logs,cache}. There is IMHO nothing wrong
> with storing variable data in $PREFIX/portname/ as long as this is
> sensibly done. $PREFIX/portname/var or $PREFIX/var/portname on the
> other hand is usually just a sign of sloppy porting and should be
> fixed.
> 
> Trying to separate static and variable data and scattering said data
> across filesystems just for the sake of it or for arcane aesthetic
> reasons is - IMO - not really helpful for the user. The most important
> point is that you should never deviate to much from the directory
> layout that the software authors have in mind: users might have a
> hard time finding out where a certain directory that is mentioned in
> the documentation is actually located when the software is installed
> via FreeBSD ports (my current case in point: mail/sympa5).

Sorry to say, but you are very wrong.

There is nothing arcane about wanting to have about wanting to have
everything that's rw (as opposed to only r) on a separate file system.

Squid and sympa ports are wrong. So are a ton of www ports.

Just as an example, think of Nth jails which could nicely share via a
nullfs mount everything but the files that are either config or
variable from a "base" jail.

-- 
IOnut - Un^d^dregistered ;) FreeBSD "user"
  "Intellectual Property" is   nowhere near as valuable   as "Intellect"
FreeBSD committer -> itetcu at FreeBSD.org, PGP Key ID 057E9F8B493A297B
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