Re: [Groff] [groff] 04/09: Fixes for `uninstall' target.

[Werner LEMBERG]

> 1) DESTDIR is fundamentally broken, for installations on MS-Windows
> hosts; not a big deal, I guess, provided the user performing the
> installation task is aware that they cannot use it.

Interesting.  I haven't used DESTDIR by myself, but I got requests to
implement that for virtually everything.  Do you have a link
explaining the reasons?

> 2) Does DESTDIR have any real value, for an uninstall target?

IMHO yes.  It's good for testing purposes.

> Its value lies in staging binary packages; "rm -rf ..." is the
> simplest way to clear a staging tree, (unless multiple packages are
> staged in a common tree, perhaps, and only one is to be selectively
> discarded).

Well, `make install' should be the opposite of `make uninstall'
*without moving stuff*.  It's an assymetry if installing with DESTDIR
works, but uninstall doesn't.

> The concern is that DESTDIR is not preserved between install and
> uninstall, placing an onus on the user to specify it identically on
> both occasions.

AFAIK, the DESTDIR stuff is to build a package for a distribution;
there are other means to install and uninstall packages.  So moving
isn't a concern IMHO.


    Werner