port installs: /usr/X11R6/bin versus /usr/local/bin ?

[Adam Weinberger]

>> (12.26.2003 @ 0044 PST): Rob said, in 0.7K: <<
> 
> Hi,
> 
> Why do I have, for example, /usr/local/bin/netscape and 
> /usr/X11R6/bin/mozilla ?
> 
> Applications from ports are randomly distributed over these two 
> directories, which
> I believe, is a bad strategy.
> 
> I can figure that exclusively the XFree86 ports may put files in 
> /usr/X11R6, but that
> should not allow other ports to add files into the same directory.
> 
> Why is there no stricter policy on port installs to put files only in 
> /usr/local ?
> 
> Regards,
> Rob.
>> end of "port installs: /usr/X11R6/bin versus /usr/local/bin ?" from Rob <<

Rob -

In general, the separation of X11R6 and local is adhered to. The main
differences arise in things like netscape that are historically in
/usr/local, and things that can run under X but have non-X counterparts,
such as vim and w3m. Then there are things like games and apps that rely
upon SDL, which live in /usr/local, even though they're typically run
from within X. And then there's KDE, which installs itself into
/usr/local because that's how it's always been, and because hier(7) is
worded to imply that it should be there, much in the same way that your
vegan girlfriend doesn't want you eating meat either ;;)

Where stuff resides is well-defined from hier(7). On some level,
cross-pollution is preferable to changing where netscape resides and
breaking ancient compatability.

# Adam


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