About prefix on linux

[H.J. Lu]

> 
> 
> > > > I have feeling that install egs in /usr/local on linux as default
> > > > may cause more trouble than its worth for most of Linux users.
> > > 
> > > Would you be willing to wait and see if there are complaints?
> > 
> > I can wait and I hope I was wrong. But if most of linux people just
> > use the precompile binraries with prefix=/usr, there may be few
> > complaints. Does that mean I am correct :-)?
> 
> Anyone using your releases is forced to corrupt their Red Hat or
> Debian database, precisely because they go in /usr (unless someone
> makes an .rpm or a .deb from them).

I will leave those to Redhat and Debian unless they are the
parts of egcs.

> 
> Sometimes I want to try a new compiler without committing to it forever
> more as my only compiler.  By only providing releases with everything in
> /usr, you are forcing people to replace their compiler with the new one.

I don't have the resources to make binaries with prefix other than
/usr. When I do make binaries, I believe they are reliable enough.
If something does go wrong, I am ready to provide solutions.

> For that reason, Linux users are forced to be more cautious.
> 
> This is a risk that some people are happy to take (those that get the
> latest 2.1.x Linux kernel every four days), but it would be nice if
> people on "production" Linux boxes could also evaluate egcs.
> 

For people on "production" Linux boxes who don't know how to handle the
risk, I would recommend they wait for a rpm/deb from Redhat/Debian.


H.J.