** Changed in: base-files (Ubuntu)
Status: New => Triaged
** Changed in: base-files (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided => Medium
** Changed in: base-files (Ubuntu)
Assignee: (unassigned) => Mathieu Trudel-Lapierre (mathieu-tl)
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1075860
Title:
Add /opt/bin to PATH
Status in base-files package in Ubuntu:
Triaged
Status in base-files package in Debian:
Fix Released
Bug description:
I propose that /opt/bin should be added to the default PATH in Ubuntu.
A fine discussion about this, and why Debian doesn't do it, is found
here: http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=45096
In short, the FHS suggests that in some situations packages can/should
install content into directories under /opt, particularly in cases of
third party software installed by administrators. A few packages
already do this, including google-chrome, and it just seems like a
good idea to keep the third party stuff isolated.
However, this raises the problem of including their executables in
PATH, which obviously can't anticipate /opt/<package>/bin for every
possible package. One compromise is to include /opt/bin in PATH and
allow packages to symlink their executables there.
Let me stop and emphasize that FHS specifies /opt/bin as a special
case. This isn't "add to PATH for every use case" it's "add to PATH
for a certain case singled out in the FHS."
Currently, without /opt/bin in PATH, those packages are symlinking out
to /usr/bin or the FHS-breaking /usr/local/bin. Either way, this
compromises the motivation of keeping /opt isolated and organized.
From the thread linked above it seems Debian doesn't include /opt/bin
because their focus on free software gives them the goal of getting
everything into official and free packages. They almost wish to
discourage third party packages entirely. Ubuntu's focus is different,
though, and it seems pragmatic to allow third parties this method of
getting executables into PATH.
It seems to me that this would be a trivial change with no downside
for Ubuntu, but plenty of upside in terms of Ubuntu's interaction with
third parties and their software.
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