Re: GNU standards: DESTDIR with symlinks

[Bruno Haible]

Adrian Mariano wrote:
> I looked around in the GNU standards with regards to DESTDIR and found
> no comment on this matter.  What is the official GNU position on
> handling of symlinks with DESTDIR?

I think it's answered from the GNU standards text:
  "... any embedded file names will not be modified."
A symlink contains an embedded file name. The text says that during
the final move from $(DESTDIR)$(filename) to $(filename) the symlink
will not be modified.

Also
  "'DESTDIR' support is commonly used in package creation."
So you have to arrange for the symlink to *not* include $(DESTDIR).

> That is, should the symlink include $DESTDIR, so it is valid in-place?

No. If someone wants symlinks that are valid in-place, they should do
an installation with a different --prefix.

--prefix and DESTDIR are different features for different use-cases.
It is wrong to want to make DESTDIR behave in a way for which --prefix
is designed, and vice versa.

Bruno