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Show HN: boxxy – Control where Linux programs put files, without symlinks

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Re: Show HN: boxxy – Control where Linux programs put files, without symlinks

#221

Post by account42 »

wink wrote: post #206
fomine3 wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows just localizes how it shown on Explorer (and have API to get localized name), so real path is still C:\Users\user\Documents . macOS does the same thing by the way as you wrote. I don't think it's a problem. Only XDG based systems use real /home/user/ドキュメント (in Japanese) directory . This is annoying. Please localize it well as Win/mac does.

Now yes, but it didn't used to be that way. No, I can't tell you which version changed that, it might have been 2000. :P

Right, I still remember programs blowing up because they expected C:\Program Files and then encountered C:\Programme - that one at least got better when WoW64 forced the issue for english-speaking devs.

Re: Show HN: boxxy – Control where Linux programs put files, without symlinks

#222

Post by account42 »

tadfisher wrote: post #149
fsckboy wrote: post #139

I hate when applications ignore the XDG spec, but you know what I hate more? the XDG spec! I don't want all my pictures to go in Pictures, all my documents in Documents, etc. I want everything from each project to go in the directory for that project. I don't need it to read my mind, but when I save a document to a new directory and then I want to save a spreadsheet too... I want that new directory to be a top-line c…

You can set the XDG environment variables in Direnv maybe?

The Desktop, Downloads, Pictures, etc. directories are not from the XDG Basedir spec and not set by XDG_ environment variables but instead in the $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/user-dirs.dirs file. I also find these less useful than the more generel data/config/cache dirs.

Re: Show HN: boxxy – Control where Linux programs put files, without symlinks

#223

Post by account42 »

fsckboy wrote: post #139

I hate when applications ignore the XDG spec, but you know what I hate more? the XDG spec! I don't want all my pictures to go in Pictures, all my documents in Documents, etc. I want everything from each project to go in the directory for that project. I don't need it to read my mind, but when I save a document to a new directory and then I want to save a spreadsheet too... I want that new directory to be a top-line c…

I don't think there is a spec dictating that the default location for saving files needs to depend on the file tile - which program is doing this? I think Firefox remembers the last used path per file type, even across restarts.

The Desktop, Downloads, Pictures, etc. directories themselves are not from the XDG Basedir spec and not set by XDG_ environment variables but instead in the $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/user-dirs.dirs file. I also find these less useful than the more generel data/config/cache dirs and have most theme set to my home directory - perhaps that is affecting how Firefox works?

Re: Show HN: boxxy – Control where Linux programs put files, without symlinks

#224

Post by account42 »

intsunny wrote: post #190

I remember when the GNUStep people thought their software was important enough to create `~/GNUStep`. Fucking maddening. Especially when one did not actually use GNUStep but some dependency.

There have been some bad ports of Windows games creating ~/My Documents lol. AFAIK there's also ~/snap. You'd think at least such non-hidden hardcoded directories would bother the developers themselves.

Re: Show HN: boxxy – Control where Linux programs put files, without symlinks

#225

Post by marssaxman »

account42 wrote: post #210
renewiltord wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I see a lot of young people use emacs and BSD licences, but because I'm an older engineer and have the wisdom and experience of time, I use vim and GPL.

What age are those who use nano? /hides

hi!

Re: Show HN: boxxy – Control where Linux programs put files, without symlinks

#226

Post by [deleted] »

lelandbatey wrote: post #93
ajsnigrutin wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The dotfiles and dotfolders directly in the home folder is "the way it was always done", and now some "new kids" came and want changes done to software which has existed before they were even born. People have muscle memory for those folders, some have hardcoded those paths in other scripts, others just don't care, and things stay as they always were. On one hand, it's great to have all the stuff in the same place, o…

The XDG base directory specification[0] was initially introduced in 2003; 20 years ago now. Yes there's plenty of software that existed before 2003 which didn't respect XDG, but most all of the Linux software dumping dotfiles in my homedir where written not just after 2003, but many years after 2003. For example, the following pieces of software all have dumped garbage in my homedir, and all are much less than 20 yea…

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: boxxy – Control where Linux programs put files, without symlinks

#227

Post by ravenstine »

sosodev wrote: post #7
notamy wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No! I just thought it was a cute name ("put things in a box"), and it wasn't a common repo name on GitHub.

You might be surprised how many of us were obsessed with Boxxy lol.

Glad someone still remembers the e-drama of yore. I wasn't obsessed with Boxxy, but that's a name that reminds me of the glory days of the internet.

Re: Show HN: boxxy – Control where Linux programs put files, without symlinks

#228

Post by Izkata »

jamal-kumar wrote: post #115
notamy wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No! I just thought it was a cute name ("put things in a box"), and it wasn't a common repo name on GitHub.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yavx9yxTrsw You have no idea how much of a thing this was? People either loved her or got irrationally angry if she was ever brought up to the point of committing federal crimes

They're not the only one, I've never even heard of her before.

Re: Show HN: boxxy – Control where Linux programs put files, without symlinks

#229

Post by Insanity »

RamblingCTO wrote: post #44
Insanity wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder what the demographic for HN looks like. I never questioned how much younger the audience would be than me (and I definitely remember Boxxy and the related internet/4chan drama).

I'd think the demographics are more 30+ and thus do probably remember the 4chan stuff.

Yup, that was my assumption as well!

Re: Show HN: boxxy – Control where Linux programs put files, without symlinks

#230

Post by onli »

superluserdo wrote: post #199
onli wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To put configs in ~/.program is the convention I learned, not ~/.config/. That came later, and I see 0 reason to pick it up. It's an annoying new hierarchy which I don't even like as a user, so I certainly wouldn't follow it as a developer.

If the programs in question implement the XDG base directory spec properly, then putting `export XDG_CONFIG_HOME=$HOME/.program` in your .profile will make them put config files in .program, not .config.

Charming idea :) I'm not actually that annoyed that I will set XDG_CONFIG_HOME to $HOME, but I'll keep it in mind.
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