[tex-live] Default installation violates filesystem hierarchy standards

Zdenek Wagner zdenek.wagner at gmail.com
Sun Sep 27 22:12:05 CEST 2015


Hi all

when I started to use Linux and TeX Live in 2005, /usr/local was a common
place for software that was not a part of the Linux distro. After the
default installation of Linux it was created automatically but /opt did not
exist. Even now if I compile a package from the sources (eg I needed a
newer version of gnuplot), "make install" installs it to /usr/local, not to
/opt.

Zdeněk Wagner
http://ttsm.icpf.cas.cz/team/wagner.shtml
http://icebearsoft.euweb.cz

2015-09-27 21:42 GMT+02:00 Norbert Preining <preining at logic.at>:

> Hi Tristan,
>
> thanks for contacting us.
>
> > documentation, configuration files, etc.) in a directory hierarchy rooted
> > at /usr/local/texlive/2015.
>
> Yes, that is the default location, as it has been since many many
> years (20?)
>
> > /usr/local/texlive/2015 is the wrong place to root the installation, as
> > this violates the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS) used by GNU/Linux,
>
> We never claimed that we follow the FHS, thus we are not bound to
> the FHS. We are providing TeX Live on much more systems than Linux,
> and while we are sure that the /usr/local is reasonably common,
> I wouldn't be sure of the /opt hierarchy.
>
> > Installing TeX Live in /usr/local/texlive/2015 therefore makes it
> difficult
> > for other users to predict its location, and could interfere with
> automated
> > package management tools and other software which expects a clean
>
> Why? If an admin installs it, he can use links into /usr/local/bin,
> or, extend the system path properly (what I did on our local department
> system).
>
> Furthermore, there is as far as I remember or have seen *NO*
> package management system that installs into /usr/local.
>
> > I believe the proper place to root the TeX Live installation is under
> /opt
> > (e.g., /opt/tug/texlive/2015).  The /opt hierarchy (see Section 3.13 of
> the
>
> You are completely free to install it there, there is nobody hindering
> you in that, if you are deeply interested in FHS.
>
> At least from my side I don't see any need to change a default which
> has been in use for many years, just for a FHS which we don't follow.
>
> Of couse, others here might have a different opinion, though.
>
> All the best
>
> Norbert
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> PREINING, Norbert                               http://www.preining.info
> JAIST, Japan                                 TeX Live & Debian Developer
> GPG: 0x860CDC13   fp: F7D8 A928 26E3 16A1 9FA0  ACF0 6CAC A448 860C DC13
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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