web commit by EthanGlasserCamp: another entry on my wish list

[git.ikiwiki.info.git] / doc / bugs / PREFIX_not_honoured_for_underlaydir.mdwn

diff --git a/doc/bugs/PREFIX_not_honoured_for_underlaydir.mdwn b/doc/bugs/PREFIX_not_honoured_for_underlaydir.mdwn
index fe22df19c64188799a6ef6d667a1c873bb5add6e..11557c822f73d70635e1c1fb4637e3e957424f0b 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/bugs/PREFIX_not_honoured_for_underlaydir.mdwn
+++ b/doc/bugs/PREFIX_not_honoured_for_underlaydir.mdwn
@@ -17,17 +17,28 @@ Can't stat /usr/share/ikiwiki/basewiki: No such file or directory
 The PREFIX specified at build time should also affect the share directory -
 it shouldn't try to use /usr/share here.
 
 The PREFIX specified at build time should also affect the share directory -
 it shouldn't try to use /usr/share here.
 

-       Actually, the PREFIX, no matter where you specify it, is only
-       intended to control where files are _installed_, not where they're
-       looked for at runtime.
+> Actually, the PREFIX, no matter where you specify it, is only
+> intended to control where files are _installed_, not where they're
+> looked for at runtime.

 
 

-       There's a good reason not to make PREFIX be used to actually
-       change the program's behavior: Most packaging systems use PREFIX
-       when building the package, to make it install into a temporary
-       directory which gets packaged up.
+> There's a good reason not to make PREFIX be used to actually
+> change the program's behavior: Most packaging systems use PREFIX
+> when building the package, to make it install into a temporary
+> directory which gets packaged up.

 
 

-       It would probably be nice if ikiwiki offered a separate build-time
-       setting to control where it looked for its data files, though it already
-       offers a way to do it at runtime (--underlaydir and --templatedir).
+This is not the case.  That is the difference between PREFIX and DESTDIR.

 
 

-       --[[Joey]]
+DESTDIR does what you describe; it causes the files to be installed into some
+directory you specify, which may not be the same place you'd eventually
+run it from.
+
+PREFIX means build the software to run under the location given.  Normally it
+will also affect the location files are copied to, so that 'make install'
+installs a working system.
+
+At least, that's the way I've always understood it; the MakeMaker documentation
+isn't entirely clear (perhaps because ordinary Perl modules do not need to be
+configured at build time depending on the installation directory).  It does mention
+that DESTDIR is the thing used by packaging tools.
+
+> Thanks for clarifying that. [[bugs/done]] --[[Joey]]