Re: install hell

[Nicola Pero]

> > A simple solution is to add the two lines
> > 
> > /usr/GNUstep/System/Library/Libraries
> > /usr/GNUstep/Local/Library/Libraries
> > 
> > to /etc/ld.so.conf, then run `ldconfig' everytime you install a library.  
> > Then the libraries will be automatically found no matter if
> > LD_LIBRARY_PATH is set or not.
> > 
> 
> This is kind of hack. How it would be possible not to use ld.so.conf at all?
> Having to deal with ld.so.conf just adds to installation complications.

It is not necessarily a hack; it depends on your tastes, and on your
needs. :-)

GNUstep installs libraries in /usr/GNUstep/xxx/Library/Libraries.

To have them found, you have two options (under GNU/Linux):

 - add the paths to ld.so.conf

 - add the paths to LD_LIBRARY_PATH


Using LD_LIBRARY_PATH is more flexible because:

 - it allows you to have "library combos": multiple versions of everything
(each compiled using a different runtime / base / gui library) at the same
time - you could be using gnu-gnu-gnu on one shell and gnu-fd-nil on
another shell.  How useful is all that is open to discussion.

 - it allows each user to install libraries into his own home directory,
in ~/GNUstep/Library/Libraries.  Different users can have different
libraries etc; you can't add it to ld.so.conf for security reasons, but
each user can have his own LD_LIBRARY_PATH containing his own library
directory.  How useful is all that is open to discussion.


On the other hand, adding the paths to ld.so.conf and running ldconfig
means you are not relying on environment variables for your thing to work,
which might make your library more robust (particularly if you run it
embedded into a web server or such stuff).  Moreover, LD_LIBRARY_PATH is
ignored in setuid executables, so in that case, you must use ld.so.conf.