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Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 16:47:47 -0400
From: Phil Edwards <pedwards AT jaj DOT com>
Message-Id: <199906212047.QAA04730@jaj.com>
To: cygwin AT sourceware DOT cygnus DOT com
Subject: Re: directory structure


> In recent threads almost everybody seems to enthusiastically agree
> that the directory cygwin-b20/H-i[3456]86-cygwin32 is in analogy with
> /usr under Unix and that linking or mounting it accordingly will
> enhance the Unix look & feel.  This was slightly surprising to me
> because I have from the start had a link /usr -> /cygwin-b20.

It isn't to "enhance" the Unix look and feel.  It's to get the whole
damn thing working like other Unixes in the first place.  :-)

Part of the issue is that (for the compiler and libraries at least)
there is still this subsconscious "everything is in /usr/local and the
stuff in /usr are native tools" tendency.  It makes for real headaches
under Linux (where the native tools ARE the GNU tools), and complete
migraines under WinNT (where the native tools are useless and can't
even be used as a fallback).

Some people mount them as /usr.  I got mail from one guy who mounts
them as /usr AND as /usr/local (which had not occurred to me).

I don't know what gets changed under the next release.  I haven't been
able to use the development sources due to the "ix86-cygwin32" rename
to "ix86-pc-cygwin32" (too many things keep looking in the wrong place),
so I can't give you any exact predictions or assurances.


> I remember that my main reason was the existence of
> /cygwin-b20/include with the readline and g++ directories underneath.
> How could these be picked up with the more popular scheme, other than
> explicitly telling gcc about them?  

True, looking in the typical /usr/include is now completely useless
under this scheme.  I haven't found this to a problem with gcc, but rather
at the human level:  "What?  Redeclaration of foo in blah.h?  Let me just
pop open the system blah.h- CRAP!  It's buried fifteen levels down now!"

I suspect all of these are just growing pains.  Cygwin is still a maturing
and growing product.  Apparently the B21 release will allow a much more
relocatable directory structure, and hopefully a lot of these issues will
become simply a matter of personal preference and style, rather than "it
either has to look like this, or you have to patch the source".  Just give
it some time to grow, and have a text editor and some Advil handy in the
meanwhile.


(If you reply to the list, please don't cc another copy to me.  Thanks!)
Phil


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