Re: Fine-grained install control

[Robert Lowe]

Keith MARSHALL wrote:

Hi Keith!

> Robert Lowe wrote:
> [Re: setting an appropriate man page installation path]
> > Or a warning that without it, manpages will not be installed
> > and then prevent them from being put in the wrong place?
>
> If you are installing with /usr/local/<package> as ${prefix},
> then your binaries go in /usr/local/<package>/bin, and, unless
> you make it otherwise, configure generated with autoconf <= 2.59
> will put man pages /usr/local/<package>/man/...; (it seems that
> autoconf 2.60 will change this to /usr/local/<package>/share/man).

Except in this case it a plugin package, and the binaries go
into /usr/local/<package>/libexec, where they are used by the
package binary running as a daemon, i.e. no user interaction
with the package.  The plugins can be run separately from the
command line, but then it's up to the user to massage PATH, if
at all.  Make sense?  Sorry for being difficult!  ;-)

> Does the placement of binaries in /usr/local/<package>/bin require
> the user to add this to his PATH?  If so, man should then search
> automatically in /usr/local/<package>/man, (at least the version
> I've just ported to MinGW will).  I'm not sure if it will also
> search /usr/local/<package>/share/man, (and in any case, that
> just looks plain wrong to me -- surely it should be written such
> that it becomes /usr/local/share/<package>/man), but if the FSF
> are moving these particular goalposts, then perhaps man should
> be adapted to suit.

Do you know if this is the case on Linux, for example?  The manpage
just points to /etc/man.config if neither MANPATH or -M <pathlist>
is set, which sets a defined set of places to search.

> With this automatic MANPATH configuration, is it really so wrong
> to install your man pages in /usr/local/<package>/man?

Without a PATH requirement, I may be out of luck.  In fact, I've
always wondered why the package itself (large) did not include
manpages of any kind.  This could be the reason.  Perhaps someone
will come up with a way to offer better control.

-Robert