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Modetc: Move your dotfiles from kernel space

maxwell.eurofusion.eu

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Re: Modetc: Move your dotfiles from kernel space

#31

Post by rnhmjoj »

tengwar2 wrote: post #6

One of the annoyances of Linux is working out where configuration information is, following through multiple layers of indirection and files over-riding other files. This looks like adding another layer, another place to look, and if you're reading the man file for a shell (for example) it probably won't even mention that this could invalidate the information contained in that in the man file.

> this could invalidate the information contained in that in the man file.

No, it doesn't. The point of modetc is precisely keep both myself and the programs happy: the files are actually stored where I like to keep them, but they can be accessed as if they were stored where the developer intended.

Re: Modetc: Move your dotfiles from kernel space

#32

Post by tengwar2 »

deafpolygon wrote: post #8
tengwar2 wrote: post #6

One of the annoyances of Linux is working out where configuration information is, following through multiple layers of indirection and files over-riding other files. This looks like adding another layer, another place to look, and if you're reading the man file for a shell (for example) it probably won't even mention that this could invalidate the information contained in that in the man file.

Always check the man pages..

And I said that the man pages would be a part of what you have to examine. 95 pages in the case of bash (that's after running it through troff). man pages were fine when they were three pages long, but their lack of any internal index has become a problem.

Ok, now you might have a dozen files which could contain the information, where the location of each file can be modified by environment variables. It's tolerable if you are working on something you change weekly, but a practical problem if you do it yearly or it's entirely new.

Re: Modetc: Move your dotfiles from kernel space

#33

Post by rustyminnow »

dividedbyzero wrote: post #28
rnhmjoj wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, it's just the natural extension of the FHS convention to the home directory. I didn't come up with this idea, though, I think I saw this in a reddit thread and started doing it myself: I like that the directories are visible and follow the usual structure.

But why would I want those directories visible in my home dir?

Why would I want them hidden? I access files in ~/.config almost daily, I think this is a really good idea

Re: Modetc: Move your dotfiles from kernel space

#34

Post by SAI_Peregrinus »

jl6 wrote: post #7
txtsd wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point is to have a clean home directory.

Abandon hope. I just treat ~ as a system-owned configuration area, and put my actual files (documents, photos, etc.) in a completely different hierarchy under /.

"/home/${USER}" for whatever junk programs are going to stick there, "/home/${USER}/home" for my "real" home directory.

Re: Modetc: Move your dotfiles from kernel space

#35

Post by SAI_Peregrinus »

Sardtok wrote: post #29
ComputerGuru wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On Windows this was always easier because, for some reason, most everyone respected %appdata% compared to XDG_CONFIG_HOME, but also because hidden files wasn’t just a naming convention but an actual separate metadata flag.

Always... Except for the decades before this became common. Never a bloated C: root directory. Microsoft even had games store stuff in My Documents\Games at one point. My Documents was a user dir that saw a lot of abuse over the years.

They still have that, it's just `My Documents\My Games` now. And Visual Studio makes a folder in My Documents for every annual release. And…

Re: Modetc: Move your dotfiles from kernel space

#36

Post by BenjiWiebe »

tengwar2 wrote: post #32
deafpolygon wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Always check the man pages..

And I said that the man pages would be a part of what you have to examine. 95 pages in the case of bash (that's after running it through troff). man pages were fine when they were three pages long, but their lack of any internal index has become a problem. Ok, now you might have a dozen files which could contain the information, where the location of each file can be modified by environment variables. It's tolerable…

'man bash'. Type G. Press PgUp until you see the FILES heading (took one press for my terminal size). There's your list of files. Alternatively, instead of G and PgUp, type /FILES.

Of course, this doesn't help at all when software either doesn't have manpages, or doesn't include the list of files in the manpage. Just nitpicking your bash example.

Re: Modetc: Move your dotfiles from kernel space

#37

Post by tengwar2 »

BenjiWiebe wrote: post #36
tengwar2 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And I said that the man pages would be a part of what you have to examine. 95 pages in the case of bash (that's after running it through troff). man pages were fine when they were three pages long, but their lack of any internal index has become a problem. Ok, now you might have a dozen files which could contain the information, where the location of each file can be modified by environment variables. It's tolerable…

'man bash'. Type G. Press PgUp until you see the FILES heading (took one press for my terminal size). There's your list of files. Alternatively, instead of G and PgUp, type /FILES . Of course, this doesn't help at all when software either doesn't have manpages, or doesn't include the list of files in the manpage. Just nitpicking your bash example.

This is HN, not Reddit. You can safely assume that every single person here knows how to use man, particularly if they mention using troff to format it properly. There remains a problem.

Re: Modetc: Move your dotfiles from kernel space

#39

Post by erlkonig »

XDG doesn't handle complex environments, especially not heterogeneous computing environments. Something long the core strength of Unix is acknowledged by XDG and then left utterly unaddressed. Without this, the "standard" is as much an impediment as an aid.

It's amusing that modetc goes through all this effort to twist dotfiles into the XDG half-solution, and here I am using symlinks through /dev/shm/xdg/* to warp XDG into sort-of working in an actual heterogeneous environment.

Because XDG by itself is a failure beyond trivial cases.

Re: Modetc: Move your dotfiles from kernel space

#40

Post by ComputerGuru »

Sardtok wrote: post #29
ComputerGuru wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On Windows this was always easier because, for some reason, most everyone respected %appdata% compared to XDG_CONFIG_HOME, but also because hidden files wasn’t just a naming convention but an actual separate metadata flag.

Always... Except for the decades before this became common. Never a bloated C: root directory. Microsoft even had games store stuff in My Documents\Games at one point. My Documents was a user dir that saw a lot of abuse over the years.

Yes, as in there’s no reason Linux can’t clean up its game the same way.
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