Re: [Gnu-arch-users] patch: clean up some cacherev mess

[Andrew Suffield]

On Mon, Nov 21, 2005 at 09:40:05AM -0800, Derek Zhou wrote:
> Andrew Suffield wrote:
> > 
> > No! /tmp is for temporary files which are SMALL.
> Depends on how you define small. For example, k3b uses /tmp to store the
> image before burning the cd-r and there is no obvious way to change it.

It's broken then. Nothing should be putting CD images in /tmp. That's
a textbook example of what /var/tmp is for. It also won't work on a
stock install of most linux platforms these days, which use tmpfs -
few enough boxes can fit an entire CD image into memory.

> If your /tmp is so small that can't even accomodate one temporary source
> tree, lots of software will fail.

Utter nonsense. I routinely limit /tmp to 32Mb of tmpfs. Nothing of
note breaks.

> > It is frequently held in memory and will not accomodate things like
> > entire source trees. If you desperately need large working space on
> > the local filesystem, that's /var/tmp, but you should really be
> > working in . wherever possible.
> . is bad because it is arbitrary. You don't want to litter arbitrary
> place, don't you? 

. is where the user expects it to go. That's why they're in that
directory. That's how unix has *always* worked; stuff goes into
. unless you explicitly tell it to go someplace else. It's not
"arbitrary", it's "doing what you're told to".

> > That goes doubly for anybody who thinks they can get away with putting
> > revision libraries in /tmp. Your sysadmin will come over to your house
> > and kill you slowly with a rusty spoon.
> I have been doing this for monthes, don't see that coming :) It is a
> personal choice to put revlib in /tmp. I use debian too and debian also
> provide tmpreaper.  

tmpreaper is to clean up stale locks and stuff like that. People
caught *filling* /tmp get their accounts deleted, because they broke
the box.

-- 
  .''`.  ** Debian GNU/Linux ** | Andrew Suffield
 : :' :  http://www.debian.org/ |
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