Comment 28 for bug 1448092

Le 2015-09-23 19:18, Guo, Liang Chang a écrit :
> Thank you Mathieu.
> Q: "Would it be possible to recompile just to replace /var/perf/pm with /opt/ibm/pm? "
> A: Although technically possible, it might raise questions on the viability of PM-Ubuntu project:
> 1) For a FHS-compliant system, it is supposed to store "static" things only in /opt which may then be mounted for read only;
If this is truly an issue for you, storing files in the proper paths in
/usr/lib, and keeping just the very few binaries that are expected to
ever be run by users in /usr/bin, is quite acceptable: we've already
established that. The only thing that is being objected to is the use of
paths in /var/perf; which isn't FHS-compliant.

As I've expressed before, it is a requirement for packages in the
archive to follow Debian and Ubuntu packaging policies.

> 2) There will be awful consequences to move home for PM (for IBM i, AIX, Linux, KVM ...) after we released the product more than a decade.

Why? There is no consequence in keeping software in the generally
accepted locations that are both time-tested and widely adopted.

> Q: "This way we could have a PMLinux.cfg in a reasonable location and use it to guide binaries ..."
> A: Impossible. Program always runs first before configuration takes effect. It's the location of binaries that matters and guides where to find the configuration file, then knows where to store data and where to locate other things (such as sub-programs, text documents, temporary locks/buffers etc.).

On the contrary, this is why I am asking whether you can recompile these
binaries. To know where to find their files, these programs must have it
hard-coded somewhere. This means this value can be changed.

>
> Q: "or have the binaries 'just work' without any config file present?"
> A: Yes, PM can works well with .cfg file absent. In this circumstance, PM must run in default patterns. However, if config file does not exist, there is no way to control PM behaves differently (off the defaults), particularly, under the specific directories layout on Ubuntu.
>
> Here I update the proposal (version 1.1, right sheet in the attachment)
> for your review for PM-Ubuntu with the files of static in /opt/ibm/pm
> and of dynamic in /var/opt/ibm/pm, except the manual's (static) still in
> the traditional place /usr/share/man.

I thought I had mentioned it in the previous comment, but maybe I
forgot: there's an additional issue with keeping manual pages in
/usr/share/man if the rest is shipped in /opt. Packages shipping things
in /opt should ship *everything* in /opt, not pick and choose.

While I agree I've given you both options, it seems as though with all
the coming data, it is likely best to ship ibmpmlinux files in proper
/usr tree instead, such as in the initial packaging I provided for
review in the bug (which was still affected by the binaries' requirement
for arbitrary paths).

--
Mathieu Trudel-Lapierre <email address hidden>
Freenode: cyphermox, Jabber: <email address hidden>
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