Re: git: 36db6b04962a - main - hier(7): document /home/ and /usr/home/
Date: Wed, 10 May 2023 15:13:13 UTC
In message <ba22a75d-06c0-371e-603e-7ded9d1dca97@freebsd.org>, Mitchell Horne w rites: > On 5/10/23 11:19, Rodney W. Grimes wrote: > >> The branch main has been updated by mhorne: > >> > >> URL: https://cgit.FreeBSD.org/src/commit/?id=36db6b04962a01ff7b21592def02d > 4c570dac939 > >> > >> commit 36db6b04962a01ff7b21592def02d4c570dac939 > >> Author: Mitchell Horne <mhorne@FreeBSD.org> > >> AuthorDate: 2023-05-10 12:53:56 +0000 > >> Commit: Mitchell Horne <mhorne@FreeBSD.org> > >> CommitDate: 2023-05-10 13:25:17 +0000 > >> > >> hier(7): document /home/ and /usr/home/ > >> > >> Reviewed by: imp > >> MFC after: 1 week > >> Sponsored by: The FreeBSD Foundation > >> Differential Revision: https://reviews.freebsd.org/D40002 > >> --- > >> share/man/man7/hier.7 | 10 ++++++++++ > >> 1 file changed, 10 insertions(+) > >> > >> diff --git a/share/man/man7/hier.7 b/share/man/man7/hier.7 > >> index ff11289436a1..b6759dd6e65b 100644 > >> --- a/share/man/man7/hier.7 > >> +++ b/share/man/man7/hier.7 > >> @@ -90,6 +90,10 @@ file descriptor files; > >> see > >> .Xr \&fd 4 > >> .El > >> +.It Pa /home/ > >> +user HOME directories. > >> +This is a symlink to > >> +.Pa /usr/home/ > > > > /usr is "contains the majority of user utilities and applications" > > it should not contain home directories. > > > I do not know when this move to usr came about it was traditionally > /home. > > I do not know why /usr/home even exists, it is not needed by > > anything I am aware of. If we have a compatible link it > > should be, usr/home -> ../home and /home should be the > > directory. > > > > I agree that /usr/home is strange, and is unique (?) to FreeBSD. > > The oldest commit in the output of `git log --grep '/usr/home'` is: > > commit f2400d465896a8e4f6fdc57eba840cf49b25bbbd > Author: David Nugent <davidn@FreeBSD.org> > Date: Fri Jan 3 04:42:18 1997 +0000 > > Implemented /home -> /usr/home symlink kludge. > If home basedir would be created in the root partition, create > it under /usr instead, and symlink /basedir -> /usr/basedir. > > Notes: > svn path=/head/; revision=21242 > > > So it has been this way for 26 years at least. I do not know what to say > about whether /usr "should" contain it, but it does. Usually history matters. I can understand not changing it. On the flip side, I cut my UNIX teeth on SunOS 4 and Solaris where /home was /home -- albeit automounted from /export/home on localhost or some NFS server. In the Red Hat land at $JOB, /home is its own partition (actually an LVM volume). In both cases /home is not in /usr because end-users can fill /usr. This can be problematic operationally because it's yet another headache to deal with should someone fill the filesystem. Filling /usr is more serious than filling /home. As a point of interest, when I installed my first FreeBSD many moons ago I used the Solaris standard of /export/home, using amd (now automount) to serve my /home. I'm not advocating we do this, it's overkill, but /home should not live in /usr. It's a potential headache for any sysadmin. With ZFS the solution is easy. With UFS based systems there are a lot of other factors that go into how we install the "default" from the get-go. -- Cheers, Cy Schubert <Cy.Schubert@cschubert.com> FreeBSD UNIX: <cy@FreeBSD.org> Web: https://FreeBSD.org NTP: <cy@nwtime.org> Web: https://nwtime.org e^(i*pi)+1=0