Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!usc!apple!sun-barr!lll-winken!gauss.llnl.gov!casey
From: casey@gauss.llnl.gov (Casey Leedom)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: difficulty installing in other than /usr/[bin,lib,include]/X11
Message-ID: <39153@lll-winken.LLNL.GOV>
Date: 21 Nov 89 18:51:10 GMT
References: <8911202302.AA16113@kanga.lcs.mit.edu> <5036@fy.sei.cmu.edu>
Sender: usenet@lll-winken.LLNL.GOV
Reply-To: casey@gauss.llnl.gov (Casey Leedom)
Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lines: 45


  It isn't hard to do what you want at all.  It's only slightly confused
by a problem in the meaning of DESTDIR in the distributed Makefile
template.

  Basically, the traditional meaning of DESTDIR has been: when you
actually perform the installation of files into BINDIR, LIBDIR, INCDIR,
etc., prepend DESTDIR to the installation directory targets.  This allows
you to install a rooted installation tree somewhere other than root.
This is useful if you're building a new system or distribution.

  This is done for 4BSD distributions when a new distribution tape is
cut.  CSRG still has to be able to work on the machines, but they
obviously don't want to distribute a copy of their system.  So the build
a pristine distribution under /nbsd.  Also obvious is the fact that they
can't have all the Makefiles targeting into /nbsd or all the applications
would try to find things under /nbsd instead of /, etc.  So they compile
everything normally, but then install by saying ``make install
DESTDIR=/nbsd'' - DESTDIR is passed down automatically by Makefiles when
subdirectories are recursively made.

  The problem with the X11.3 Makefile template is that it has lines in it
of the form ``BINDIR=$(DESTDIR)/...'' when they should really read
``BINDIR=/...'' and the "install" target should prepend $(DESTDIR) as it
installs files.  Hopefully this will be fixed in R4.

  Luckily, since the R3 Makefile template passes DESTDIR down
automatically just as the 4BSD Makefiles do, you can just configure and
compile R3 with DESTDIR set to nothing and then use ``make install
DESTDIR=/...'' when you install to pick where you want things actually
installed.  There may still be a couple of applications which give you
problems: some applications automatically recompile themselves on an
install even though already fully compiled because of weird
dependencies.  Those you'll just have to deal with by hand.  Off hand I
can't think of anything in the core distribution that has this problem.

  It also isn't that hard to change the default installation directories
from /usr/lib, etc.  You can do it all from site.def quite easily.  I
really hope that R4 drops the comment that they consider this to be a bad
practice.  It's unreasonable to expect that one choice of directories
will work for everyone.  Personally I install all non-stock software
under /usr/local/{bin,lib,include}.  Other sites have other reasons for
installing software elsewhere ...

Casey