[Python-Dev] Installing python in /usr/bin

[Thomas Wouters]

On Wed, Oct 04, 2000 at 04:02:51AM -0700, Ka-Ping Yee wrote:

> So the natural question to ask is -- why not install Python in /usr/bin
> like everyone else?

> Perhaps a while ago Python wasn't popular enough to belong in /usr/bin
> and decided to modestly stay out of the way in /usr/local/bin instead?

The only reason is the hysterical one: it's always been that way.
Traditionally, /usr/local/bin was the place for user-installed binaries.
This sets them apart from the the vendor-supplied binaries (commonly in /bin
and /usr/bin, where /bin are the tools necessary to boot and mount /usr, and
/usr/bin is the rest) and the vendor-installed 3rd-party binaries (commonly
in /usr/contrib/bin, or /opt/bin, or /opt/gnu/bin, and the like.)

> But by now, i think it's quite qualified to take its seat in /usr/bin
> along with all the other standard Unix binaries like /usr/bin/vi,
> /usr/bin/ftp, /usr/bin/perl, etc.  Python *should* be in the default
> binary directory.

Perl only resides in /usr/bin if the vendor (or distribution-maker, in the
case of the Free OSes) put it there. The default for Perl is /usr/local as
well. In fact, almost all source packages default to /usr/local; I have yet
to see a package that uses autoconf and does not have /usr/local as the
default prefix, for instance.

I think the best solution is just for every OS to put /usr/local/bin in
their path, and not pretend they delivered the Definitive Collection of
Useful Programs. Installing Python in /usr can do more damage than good --
think of all the people that are used to have it installed in /usr/local,
don't specify a prefix because they 'know' it's /usr/local by default, and
end up filling up their minimal /usr partition with Python ;)

-- 
Thomas Wouters <thomas@xs4all.net>

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