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Full Discussion: Clueless re Java: /opt vs. /usr/local
Operating Systems Linux Fedora Clueless re Java: /opt vs. /usr/local Post 302879786 by bakunin on Sunday 15th of December 2013 10:16:04 AM
Old 12-15-2013
The debate about "/opt" versus "/usr/local" boils down to the following:

In Unix the layout of the filesystem is more or less fixed. Every file, executable or not, should have its designated place where it has to go. This only as an afore.

The Linux initiative came up with an attempt to further codify this already long-used "best practice" and published the "Filesystem Hierarchy Standard".

I won't comment on the other parts of the document, just the part dealing with "/usr/local" and "/opt":

"/opt" is where all application should go. For every application there should be a subdirectory with its name (and optionally manufacturer) and in that a directory with its version. The "foo" application of the "bar" company in version 1.23 would go to "/opt/bar/foo/1.23", for instance. The executables for this software should be in "/opt/bar/foo/1.23/bin" with optional links to "/opt/bin" to avoid a convoluted PATH.

"/usr/local" is the place for all the OS extensions the administrator wants to have at this particular system. As "/usr" (short for "Unix Software Resources") is under the sole discretion of the OS provider this is the only place that should be modifyable by the SysAdmin. Still, this should be limited to OS-relevant utilities, not for applications in their own right. You might place a third-party "ssh"-client there or "gzip", but not, for instance, "MySQL".

Having said that: if you put java into "/usr/local" or into "/opt" is a question of if you see it as an application in its own right or merely a system tool. There is no "correct" answer to that, just your sensible decision about what best describes its usage on your system.

I hope this helps.

bakunin
 

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LEARN ABOUT HPUX

mkepmlist

mkepmlist(1)						      Easy Software Products						      mkepmlist(1)

NAME

       mkepmlist - make an epm list file from a directory.

SYNOPSIS

       mkepmlist [ -g group ] [ -u user ] [ --prefix directory ] directory [ ...  directory ]

DESCRIPTION

       mkepmlist recursively generates file list entries for files, links, and directories. The file list is send to the standard output.

       The -g option overrides the group ownership of the files in the specified directories with the specified group name.

       The -u option overrides the user ownership of the files in the specified directories with the specified user name.

       The  --prefix  option adds the specified directory to the destination path. For example, if you installed files to "/opt/foo" and wanted to
       build a distribution that installed the files in "/usr/local", the following command would generate  a  file  list  that  is  installed	in
       "/usr/local":
	    mkepmlist --prefix=/usr/local /opt/foo >foo.list

SEE ALSO

       epm(1) - create software packages
       epminstall(1) - add a directory, file, or symlink to a list file
       epm.list(5) - epm list file format

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright 1999-2007 by Easy Software Products, All Rights Reserved.

       This  program  is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
       the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option) any later version.

       This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY	WARRANTY;  without  even  the  implied	warranty  of  MER-
       CHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.

3 April 2006							ESP Package Manager						      mkepmlist(1)
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