Re: Proper location to install shell function libraries?

[Ralf Corsepius]

On 03/01/2017 05:13 PM, Nick Bowler wrote:

> The definition of these install variables comes from the GNU Coding
> Standards[1].  You mention the installed scripts are machine-dependent
> so they should be installed in either libdir or libexecdir.  GCS says:
>
>   "libexecdir: The directory for installing executable programs to be
>                run by other programs rather than by users  ..."
>
>   "libdir:     The directory for object files and libraries of object
>                code ..."
>
> Which doesn't really help us decide where to install non-executable
> machine-dependent shell fragments.

Note the term "executable programs" in the section on "libexecdir", you 
cited above. Shell fragment usually aren't "executable".

> Based on this information alone,
> libexecdir seems like a reasonable choice.  However, looking at what
> packages installed on my computer do, libdir seems to be much more
> commonly used.
This observation has its reasons (at least under Linux).

- Many distros do not support or did not support libexecdir and favor 
$libdir/<package>.
- Many packages do not use libexecdir.
- Putting everything into $libdir/<package> is easier to use.

Ralf