[Python-Dev] [Python-3000] Reminder: last alphas next Wednesday 07-May-2008

[Alec Thomas]

2008/5/7  <skip at pobox.com>:
>
>     Alec> FWIW my vote is for ~/.python. ~/.local comes in a distant second
>     Alec> due to non-obviousness and ~/Python is several light years beyond
>     Alec> that.
>
>  I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree.  I find hiding directories
>  which contain executable code extremely non-obvious.  Would you prefer

Python would not be unique. Mozilla/Firefox does exactly this, putting
per-user plugins in ~/.mozilla.

>  /usr/.local to /usr/local?  If not, then why prefer ~/.local to ~/local?

Because unlike a home directory, users don't frequently perform
directory listings or tab completion of /usr/. For a frequently used
personal directory one wants the minimum of noise.

Also:

  1. If every application followed the convention of creating
non-hidden paths in home directories the directory listing would be
*incredibly* noisy. To illustrate, I have 160 dotfiles, most of which
were created by applications. I have only 8 non-hidden directories,
all of which I have created myself.
  2. Non-hidden directories interfere with tab completion muscle memory.
  3. On a more subjective note, home directories are personal space.
People shape them to their personality, and interfering with this is
impolite.
  4. Per-application dotfiles have 30 years of convention behind them.
Conversely, only a few applications use ~/.local (for example, Openbox
and Audacious both look for configuration here) and none that I'm
aware of default to ~/local.
  5. Applications that create non-hidden directories in user home
directories are generally perceived as being obnoxious.

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