differences running in build dir or install dir

[Bob Rossi]

Hi,

This is a sort of general purpose question. It's typical that the
build directory and the install directly have a different
directory hierarchy. Therefor, if you run a built program in the 
build directory versus in the install directory, it would require the
built program to look for files in different locations. My question is,
is it typical to encode into the program a bit that tells it if it's
being run in the build or install directory? Is it typically to say,
"Only run the program from the install directory?" The second response
would be to bad, considering the make install rule can be just an
extra step in the development cycle, thereby wasting more precious time.

Does anyone have any advice for me in this area?

Thanks,
Bob Rossi