Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!bfmny0!tneff
From: tneff@bfmny0.BFM.COM (Tom Neff)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.perl
Subject: Re: Weird directories in scripts (was Re: Setting your system time)
Message-ID: <15857@bfmny0.BFM.COM>
Date: 15 Sep 90 03:49:46 GMT
References: <1990Sep13.183429.17002@uvaarpa.Virginia.EDU> <15856@bfmny0.BFM.COM> <1990Sep14.211625.756@iwarp.intel.com>
Reply-To: tneff@bfmny0.BFM.COM (Tom Neff)
Lines: 35

>| >do "/compass/c/worley/perl-3.0/lib/getopt.pl";
>| 
>| Come on people -- is it really necessary to leave this kind of line in a
>| Perl script being distributed to the world?  How about exercising a
>| little reasonability when you post, and eliminating the weird custom
>| directories instead of making thousands of individual users do it?
>
>And replace them with *what*?  *Your* custom directory?  How will
>I know what that is?
>
>At least with a name like /compass/c/worley/blah/blah/blah, I know
>enough to think "hey, maybe he's *not* talking about something from
>the distribution there".

No, but that's the point.  Either the included packages are standard, or
they aren't.  If they're standard, the posted script should just invoke
them by name without bizarre directories:

	do "getopt.pl";

and leave the individual user to add explicit pathing for his system, IF
that's really necessary in preference to using -I.  Whereas, if the
packages are NOT standard, they should (a) be included in the
distribution unless previously (and recently) posted; (b) NOT named the
same as the standard packages, if the distinction between them is
important; and (c) STILL referenced in the posted script without weird
directory names.  If the user has a copy of the nonstandard package he
will install it someplace that he, and not the script author who lives on
/perky/pat/foobar/6000SUX/lib/pustule/perlsubs, knows about.

Mmm, that feels better.  :-)

-- 
Anthrax Rampant in Kirghizia:    Oo*oO      Tom Neff
  Izvestia Comment -- TASS      * *O* *     tneff@bfmny0.BFM.COM