From: Peter Baumann <waste.manager@gmx.de>
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2007 14:33:29 GMT
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Makefile: create an install-symlinks target
Message-ID: <20070718143329.GD4815@xp.machine.xx>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0707181344520.14781@racer.site>

On Wed, Jul 18, 2007 at 01:48:21PM +0100, Johannes Schindelin wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> On Wed, 18 Jul 2007, David Kastrup wrote:
> 
> > Use this, for example, to do
> > rm -rf /opt/git
> > make prefix=/opt/git install
> > make symlinkprefix=/usr/local prefix=/opt/git install-symlinks
> 
> You mean
> 
> 	This target allows you to have git installed in one location,
> 	and have symbolic links to all of the programs installed in 
> 	another	location.  For example, if git was installed to /opt/git
> 	with
> 
> 		make prefix=/opt/git install
> 
> 	you can install symbolic links in /usr/local/bin with
> 
> 		make symlinkprefix=/usr/local prefix=/opt/git \
> 			install-symlinks
> 
> Hmm.  Why not install it with a proper package manager in the correct 
> place to begin with?  Somehow I find so many symbolic links ugly.
> 

Seeing this excellent explantion from Dscho, this sound exactly like a
perfect use case for xstow [1].

It allows you to install your application into e.g. /usr/local/stow/git
and by running 'xstow git' in /usr/local/stow it would create all the
necessary links in /usr/local/{bin,share,doc} or any other place you
want.

-Peter

[1]: http://xstow.sourceforge.net/