Re: Gnome relocation issue

[Bruno Coudoin <bcoudoin anfora fr>]

Le 03 May 2001 17:36:07 -0400, Elliot Lee a écrit :
> On 3 May 2001, Bruno Coudoin wrote:
> 
> > Yes, but only developpers can use it efficiently. You have to set them
> > before you run a gnome program. How do you do if you run several gnome
> > app from the shell or from the menu.
> 
> You set it in /etc/profile or ~/.profile, like a normal human being. :)
> 

I think there is a big misunderstand of the situation. Let me re-explain
it with a simple example.
I compile my gnome app A with --prexix=/home/me/mygnomedir
Then all files including images, sounds and help file must be located
there.
You can use it by setting the env variable GNOMEDIR to
/home/me/mygnomedir before
you run this app.
If you run another app B that came with your distrib for example, you
must set back GNOMEDIR
to where Gnome is installed or you won't have the help for sure and
perhaps no sounds and 
no pixmap if the B app uses the Gnome API gnome_xxx_unconditional_xxx to
retrieve them.

If you set GNOMEDIR in your .profile to the path of app A, then say bye
bye to Gnome helps in
all apps. I am even not sure Gnome will run at all because it also needs
to know where to find its
data.

What is good in your proposal is that we could implement GNOMEDIR to
work as the PATH
variable by setting for example
GNOMEDIR=/usr:/usr/local/:/home/me/mygnomedir
This way we don't add an entry in the API. Do you prefer this way?

This simply won't work. 

> > Why?
> 
> "Here, I've got this API, I want you to use, but you can only use it for
> these new versions of gnome-libs, and then you have to stop using it
> shortly."

I still don't understand what you mean. My intent is to provide a long term
solution to this very important issue. I don't see way we should have to stop 
using it. Now if you tell me that this issue is handled correctly in Gnome 2,
please explain me how.

To undersdand the big issue, let's say you are at scool and you share a Unix
box (remember unix is multi-user), gnome is installed under /usr. Only the
sysadmin can write on /usr. Then a student can't install a gnome app in its
home directory because the Gnome API doesn't support it.
This completely break the Unix philosophy.

I hope it clarifies.

> 
> -- Elliot
> These three lines
>       are for sale
>               at the rate of $50/month.
> 
> 
-- 
Bruno Coudoin
ANFORA - BP 306- Bât ACTYS- 31313 LABEGE Cedex
Tel: (33)5 61 00 34 67 Fax: (33)5 61 00 34 61