* Aredridel <aredridel / nbtsc.org> [0644 05:44]:
> > > Packages not offering a --prefix option or (Better) some sort of
> > > DESTDIR/--root option often don't get installed by me.  It's just too
> > > much work to pack up properly in case I want to remove it -- besides, if
> > > it's worth using, it gets installed on at least five systems -- if I
> > > package it, I only have to do the hard work (making it non-invasive)
> > > once.
> > 
> > Please excuse my ignorance, but what's the difference/benefit?
> 
> With --prefix, you're telling a package it's final home: /usr,
> /usr/local, or /, or /opt/ruby/pacages/ruby-foo. It may very well
> hard-code those values in as places to look for data -- in applications
> written in C, it's very common for the compiler to compile in
> "/usr/share/appname" as the data directory if /usr is the prefix --
> obviously, using --prefix=/tmp/builder/package/usr is bad if the app,
> once installed, is going to look in /tmp for it's data files.

One thing I've found in my month or so of using ruby is that most
RAA packages (not a dig at raa, that's just sll I've used) don't
listen to things like --prefix , but insist on reading  the Config
module to figure out where to go.

This is a major PITA if you don't have root, and generally involves 
taking a hacksaw to install.rb.

ri (which is so useful that it really should be in 1.8, just to
cross-pollinate another thread) in particular needs
some major surgery if you're a mere mortal user.

Of course, there's quite possibly something I'm missing (see my other
posts here for sone idea of my newbity), but for people with a shell
account this can be the difference between using ruby or Perl for a
given job... I think it should be addressed
if a 'recommended' package format is being proposed.


-- 
Rasputin :: Jack of All Trades - Master of Nuns