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What are the alternatives to the FHS?

42 votes
6 answers
5405 views
I'm a long time Linux user for over 15 years but one thing I hate with a passion is the mandated directory structure. I don't like that /usr/bin is the dumping ground for binaries or libs in /usr/lib, /usr/lib32, /usr/libx32, /lib, /lib32 etc... Random stuff in /usr/share etc. It's dumb and confusing. But some like it and tastes differ. I want a directory structure where each package is isolated. Imagine instead if the media player dragon had it's own structure: /software/dragon /software/dragon/bin/x86/dragon /software/dragon/doc/README /software/dragon/doc/copyright /software/dragon/lib/x86/libdragon.so Or: /software/zlib/include/zlib.h /software/zlib/lib/1.2.8/x86/libz.so /software/zlib/lib/1.2.8/x64/libz.so /software/zlib/doc/examples/... /software/zlib/man/... You get the point. What are my options? Is there any Linux distro that uses something like my scheme? Can some distro be modified to work like I want it (Gentoo??) or do I need LFS? Is there any prior art in this area? Like publications on if the scheme is feasible or unfeasible? Not looking for OS X. :) But *OS X-inspired* is totally ok. **Edit**: I have no idea how PATH, LD_LIBRARY_PATH and other environment variables that depend on a small set of paths should work out. I'm thinking that if I have the KDE editor Kate installed in /software/kate/bin/x86/bin/kate then I'm ok with having to type the full path to the binary to start it. How it should work for dynamic libraries and dlopen calls, I don't know but it can't be an unsolvable engineering problem.
Asked by Gaslight Deceive Subvert (716 rep)
Sep 4, 2015, 06:48 PM
Last activity: Aug 10, 2024, 01:49 PM